image: What really measures the quality of research? Beyond articles, citations, and journal impact, the way in which the work of research staff is evaluated is the focus of attention internationally. To bring this debate closer to society and the university community, the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló (UJI) has published the results of a survey conducted among its research staff on the current model of scientific evaluation. The current system is based mainly on quantitative indicators, such as the number of publications, the position of the journals in which they are published, and the number of citations received. This approach, which is the most widely used, seeks to measure scientific performance objectively, but often overlooks aspects such as quality, social relevance, interdisciplinarity and working conditions. For this reason, the UJI wanted to give its staff a voice through a survey that gauges how this model is perceived and what changes would be desirable. According to the results report, a significant proportion of research staff believe that, although figures can guide and stimulate work, they do not always reflect the real value of research or its impact on society. Concern is also expressed about the effect this model may have on scientific diversity and staff well-being, as well as the widespread lack of awareness of international initiatives seeking to transform this culture of evaluation, such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), to which the UJI is a signatory, or the Coalition to Advance Research Assessment (CoARA), of which it is an active member through its Spanish chapter.
Credit: Universitat Jaume I of Castellón
What really measures the quality of research? Beyond articles, citations, and journal impact, the way in which the work of research staff is evaluated is the focus of attention internationally. To bring this debate closer to society and the university community, the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló (UJI) has published the results of a survey conducted among its research staff on the current model of scientific evaluation.
The current system is based mainly on quantitative indicators, such as the number of publications, the position of the journals in which they are published, and the number of citations received. This approach, which is the most widely used, seeks to measure scientific performance objectively, but often overlooks aspects such as quality, social relevance, interdisciplinarity and working conditions. For this reason, the UJI wanted to give its staff a voice through a survey that gauges how this model is perceived and what changes would be desirable.
According to the results report, a significant proportion of research staff believe that, although figures can guide and stimulate work, they do not always reflect the real value of research or its impact on society. Concern is also expressed about the effect this model may have on scientific diversity and staff well-being, as well as the widespread lack of awareness of international initiatives seeking to transform this culture of evaluation, such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), to which the UJI is a signatory, or the Coalition to Advance Research Assessment (CoARA), of which it is an active member through its Spanish chapter.
With the aim of bringing this debate to its community and society in general, the UJI has organized the 6th Conference on Research Ethics on 24 September at the Doctoral School. The event will include the participation of Pilar Paneque Salgado, director of the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), who will explain the changes proposed in Spain; Senena Corbalán García, who will present the work of the Spanish chapter of CoARA; and Ángel Delgado Vázquez, who will address how to integrate quantitative and qualitative assessments in a more balanced way.
The session, promoted by the Vice-Rector's Office for Research in collaboration with the European CATALISI project, will be open to all interested parties. In addition, the complete results of the survey can be consulted in the university's institutional repository and on the CoARA-UJI chapter website (https://www.uji.es/investigacio/base/coara/), where you will also find the action plan prepared by the Universitat Jaume I as an institution affiliated with the coalition.
With this set of actions, the UJI reinforces its commitment to improving the scientific evaluation system, promoting more diverse, responsible research that is connected to social needs.