Queen Mary University of London has committed to being a world-leader in fairer research evaluation by signing up to an international declaration which encourages research to be assessed on its quality rather than where it is published.
The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) is a worldwide initiative aimed at improving the ways in which outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.
The declaration promotes responsible use of metrics when measuring and evaluating research and aims to eliminate the use of journal-based metrics, such as Journal Impact Factors, in relation to funding, appointment and promotion considerations.
Instead it encourages assessment of research on its own merits rather than on the basis of the journal in which it is published.
Professor Colin Bailey, President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London, said: “Queen Mary is very proud to be signing up to DORA. The quality and impact of our research is recognised all over the world and committing to this will ensure that it is assessed fairly, using responsible metrics. We are also demonstrating to our researchers that we value the quality of their work rather than where it is published.”
A number of high profile universities across the world have signed up to DORA, which also continues to gain commitment among funding agencies and journal publishing organisations to adopt the initiative.
By signing up to DORA, Queen Mary is committing to the adoption of a number of practices in research assessment.
These include the following recommendations for the University:
DORA also includes the following recommendations for the University’s researchers:
Professor Andrew Livingston, Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation) at Queen Mary University of London, said: “By adopting these recommendations, Queen Mary demonstrates its commitment to being a world-leader in fairer research evaluation. DORA aligns with our Strategy 2030 aim to produce world-leading research that is accessible by adherence to recognised open science principles. In particular, it aligns with our aim to regularly assess how we support, review and undertake research to foster diversity and inclusion and ensure that our research practice is of the highest quality in terms of research ethics and integrity.”
The recommendations included in DORA are also complemented by other initiatives to improve the evaluation of research such as the Leiden Manifesto (2015) and the establishment of the Forum for Responsible Research Metrics in the UK.
Taking these developments forward, Queen Mary has developed a series of institutional principles which will guide the University on the use of research metrics. These include:
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