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Measuring Your Research Impact


In This Guide

Learn how to assess and increase the impact of your research:

  • Author/Article Impact

  • Journal Impact

  • Alternative Metrics

  • Increasing Your Impact

See the Scholarly Communication guide for information on related topics such as author rights, open access, open textbooks, copyright, and UNI ScholarWorks.

Metrics Toolkit

What is impact and why should it be measured?

"Impact" is the influence, standing, or contribution of a particular author, article, journal, or other publication in a given field.  

This guide discusses various ways to look at impact and how to measure it with tools that answer questions such as:

  • How many scholars are citing a particular work?

  • How many scholars are citing a particular author's works in total?

  • Who is citing the works?

  • Where are the works being cited?

  • To what extent are the works being discussed in new scholarly communication channels?

  • Which journals are most influential in a given field?

  • How can I increase the impact of my research?

Reasons to measure impact include:

  • Building a case for promotion or tenure

  • Building a case for future grant or other funding requests

  • Identifying potential collaborators