Our commitments to responsible research evaluation
For many years, Elsevier has supported the careful use of metrics and indicators in the evaluation of research and has advocated for a combined qualitative and quantitative approach. The International Center for the Study of Research (ICSR) was established in June 2019 to work in partnership with the research community to further develop responsible approaches to research evaluation. As a result of our activity, Elsevier has:
Stated its support for the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment(opens in new tab/window). You can read our statement here. The Agreement sets out a range of principles and commitments to reforming research assessment, underscoring a vision that the assessment of research, researchers and research organizations recognize the diverse outputs, practices and activities that maximize the quality and impact of research.
Signed the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)(opens in new tab/window) in December 2020. DORA is a set of 18 recommendations targeted to different parts of the research community, recognising the need for systemic change in evaluation practices.
Endorsed the Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics in July 2020. The Leiden Manifesto is a set of 10 practical and action-oriented principles that guide best practice in metrics-based research assessment.
In supporting this activity, Elsevier has joined hundreds of organisations and thousands of individuals who are on a journey towards a fair and balanced approach to research assessment based on both qualitative and quantitative indicators. We are united with the research community in our aim to nurture a research culture that values and rewards above all: inclusion, rigor, integrity and impact to advance science and society.
Active research evaluation topics
There are several research evaluation topics that ICSR is actively working on in close collaboration with the research community. Together with the ICSR Advisory Board, these topics have been identified as areas where further investigation can help drive positive change in research evaluation. Current partnerships are looking at ways to broaden the scope of assessment to reflect the full diversity of inputs, outputs and open science practices in research.
There are 14 active projects, that range from investigating the detection and sentiment of the media coverage of research to measuring societal impact, supporting inclusive career progression and validating a fairer indicator of author contributions to publications.
Further detail about the projects is available here(opens in new tab/window).
CiteScore - Elsevier's own responsible research metric
CiteScore was first introduced in 2016, as part of an evolving array of research metrics. The metrics are a standard to help measure citation impact for journals, book series, conference proceedings and trade journals. CiteScore metrics from Scopus are comprehensive, clear, current, and free metrics for all journals indexed in Scopus.
Comprehensive: CiteScore 2021 is available for over 27,000 active titles on Scopus, including all types of active serial titles – peer-reviewed journals, book series, conference proceedings and trade journals, in 330 disciplines. CiteScore does not discriminate: if a title can be cited, CiteScore will count it.
Current: CiteScore Tracker allows you to track how the current year’s CiteScore is building each month, giving a good indication of what the following year’s value will be.
Clear (transparent and easy to reproduce): CiteScore now gives complete transparency into the underlying data by allowing users to click into the numerator (citations) and denominator (documents). Simple to replicate, the calculations for CiteScore metrics are straightforward with no secret algorithms or hidden details to influence results.
Free: CiteScore metrics, including access to the underlying data, continue to be free to access without a Scopus subscription via the journal metrics website, the Scopus source browse page, and individual source profile pages.