STI Special Session: Metrics Literacy

Slides for STI 2023 Special Session: Metrics literacy

Session Objectives

This hands-on session invites conference participants to actively engage in the community-driven development and discussion of metrics education as a new focus area of bibliometric research. The session aims to bring attention to and empower the bibliometric community to take ownership of metrics education. Improving metrics literacies with the goal of reducing the misuse of bibliometric indicators is in line with current transitions towards a healthier academic culture, including the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) initiative.

The session will work as an incubator of ideas on how to effectively and efficiently communicate the knowledge of bibliometric experts to the broader audience of users of scholarly metrics. Using design thinking, we will consider user perspectives to empathize and understand users to more effectively identify problems encountered by individuals in the current metrics system. We also hope it can facilitate collaborations between various stakeholders, including bibliometric researchers and analysts, data providers and librarians.

Outline of Session

16h00                    Introduction: Metrics literacies and design thinking

16h15                    Hands-on breakout session: Design thinking exercises in small groups*

17h20                    Wrapping up: Reporting back and closing

*Participants will be asked to organize in small groups of people with similar backgrounds and roles with regard to bibliometric indicators (see back of paper for instructions).