Resource Library

This book critically analyses the value of citation data, altmetrics, and artificial intelligence to support the research evaluation of articles, scholars, departments, universities, countries, and funders. It introduces and discusses indicators that can support research evaluation and analyses their strengths and weaknesses as well as the generic strengths and weaknesses of the use of indicators…

This resource compiles questions about open scholarship that pertain to assessment of research, education, outreach, and leadership. The questions for each section are accompanied by definitions of terms used in the questions and links to resources. The authors note that these questions were developed in the context of assessment practices in The Netherlands, but note…

This resource compiles questions about open scholarship that pertain to assessment of research, education, outreach, and leadership. The questions for each section are accompanied by definitions of terms used in the questions and links to resources. The authors note that these questions were developed in the context of assessment practices in The Netherlands, but note…

For over 150 years, public research universities have advanced public interest through education, innovation, and community engagement. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) has created an initiative to promote the continuation of these values while modernizing them to give a greater consideration to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. A subsection of this initiative…

This worksheet was created as a guide for academic institutions and departments to aid in modernization of their promotion, tenure, and review processes. It lays out a set of values that institutions can take into consideration during evaluations, and offers considerations, activities or outputs that may be associated with each value, and behavioral indicators that…

This paper reviewed existing literature and international best practices and established consensus by Delphi survey on 10 key measures for assessing research quality and impact that align with DORA values. These measures were chosen from a pool of 50 compiled measures that emphasize diverse and holistic evaluations of research performance beyond traditional metrics like journal…

This internal report for the University of Waikato investigates researchers’ perspectives on metrics and their influence on research impact, highlighting a multifaceted view of the role these metrics play in the academic landscape. While researchers generally acknowledged the usefulness of metrics, they were concerned about the over-reliance on these metrics, which can lead to a…

This paper examines how to appropriately recognize and reward quality research. It critiques the overreliance on traditional quantitative indicators like journal impact factor and citation counts in evaluating scientific achievements. These metrics often fail to capture the true value and impact of research and can lead to undesirable behaviors that hinder scientific progress. The authors…

In 2022, the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland underwent a complete overhaul of their evaluation policies, stemming from their motivation to address reproducibility issues in the field and develop more transparent and inclusive evaluation policies. The department chair began this process with DORA’s principles in mind, working alongside administration, faculty, and a…

A one page tool that describes the six ways that entries are characterized in the Reformscape dataset. 1. Institution type. 2. Scope. 3. Populations. 4. Career decision. 5. Type of assessment reform. 6. Stages of reform. Part of "Rethinking research assessment" series.

This is a short report summarizing the key takeaways from a workshop co-organized by the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), the University of Bristol, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research, and the MoreBrains Cooperative. The aim of the online workshop was to develop actions to improve the processes that take place before research is…

This paper explores the relationship between open access (OA) publishing and citation diversity, offering insights into how accessibility shapes scholarly communication. Regarding responsible research assessment, open scholarship is largely important, helping to evaluate work on its own merits when it is openly accessible. The authors determined that freely available scholarly publications attract citations from a…

This report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) discusses financing mechanisms for open access publishing of federally funded research. Overall, the report underscores the importance of financing mechanisms to support open access publishing of federally funded research, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to ensure broad access to scientific knowledge…

Reviewers play a critical role in upholding research integrity within the expert review and funding process at the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). The expert review encompasses a diverse group ranging from researchers, clinicians, patients, survivors, caregivers, decision-makers, and knowledge users, collectively offering a multifaceted evaluation of research grant applications. In alignment with DORA, CCS advocates…

This document from UNESCO is a roadmap for higher education, prepared for the “3rd World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022).” Within the roadmap are “signposts for co-creating more open, inclusive, equitable and collaborative higher education systems that democratize access and knowledge.” Recognizing the evolution of and advancements in higher education, UNESCO has outlined 5 sections discussing…

This repository contains resources for faculty and academic units that are working to transform how faculty are rewarded and evaluated for promotion and tenure, with the aim of promoting inclusivity via open science practices. This “Impact as Access” approach entails access to all aspects of research, including data sharing, direct involvement in research, and access…

The Global Research Council (GRC) Responsible Research Assessment (RRA) working group, was established in 2021 to support the promotion and implementation of RRA practices in the international research and innovation system through the development of a collective understanding of RRA, and the sharing of guidance and best practices between research funding agencies worldwide. With a…

The More Than Our Rank scheme and SCOPE Framework for Research Evaluation, launched by the International Network of Research Management Societies Research Evaluation Group (INORMS REG), are initiatives that both have a focus on equity in academia and research. More Than Our Rank aims to address the limitations of global university rankings and encourage academic…

This paper investigates the processes and criteria involved in faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure assessments within academic institutions in the United States. Considering the relative size of the United States and its worldwide standing in academic research, there has been less public commitment to reforming research assessment from American research institutions than in similarly positioned…

The Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) Transforming R&I through Europe-Wide Knowledge Transfer (YUFERING) project is a comprehensive initiative aimed at transforming Research and Innovation (R&I) practices across Europe by facilitating widespread knowledge transfer. It seeks to bridge the gap between researchers, innovators, and stakeholders by promoting collaboration and communication through existing networks…

Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2023-2028 is centered on SFI’s ambition that “its EDI Strategy will be a key driver of an inclusive, engaged research culture and, through this Strategy, SFI will be an agent of change.” The Agency aims to “lead in minimising barriers and ensuring that everyone has…

The Peer Exchange Platform for Narrative-style CVs (PEP-CV) is a free and open resource for everyone in research and innovation to add to existing guidance on narrative CVs. As a not-for-profit initiative, the PEP-CV platform is a collaborative effort among funders, institutions, and researchers that fosters a culture of collaboration, mutual learning, and expands national…

This small, letter-sized poster (A4 paper) describes how you can use Reformscape to explore examples of responsible research assessment and help visualize what changes in policy toward responsible research assessment look like. This poster provides nine possible situations in which Reformscape can provide information, and describes five groups who might want to use Reformscape. DORA.…

This one-page tip sheet is a part of the short report Using Narrative CVs: Identifying shared objectives and monitoring effectiveness. In February 2022, DORA organized the online workshop series “Using Narrative CVs: Identifying shared objectives and monitoring effectiveness” in partnership with FORGEN CoP, Science Foundation Ireland, the Swiss National Science Foundation, UK Research and Innovation,…

In February 2022, DORA organized the online workshop series “Using Narrative CVs: Identifying shared objectives and monitoring effectiveness” in partnership with FORGEN CoP, Science Foundation Ireland, the Swiss National Science Foundation, UK Research and Innovation, and the University of Bristol, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research. The aim of the workshop was to develop a…