Academics ‘must set rules on metrics before others step in’

Academics should work quickly to adopt principles for metrics-based research assessment before something is imposed on them against their will, according to specialists in the field.

Jonathan Adams, chief scientist at Digital Science, welcomed the publication in Nature on 22 April of the Leiden manifesto: 10 principles for the evaluation of scientific performance. “It makes clear to academics that there are general principles that can be applied to the assessment of research,” Adams told Research Fortnight.

The manifesto helped to establish a level of authority on the matter that should allow academics to push back against assessment procedures that they might perceive to be poorly conceived, he said. But they should hurry to adopt the principles, in case something is introduced against their wishes.