This guide assists tenure-track and research active faculty with identifying sources for and obtaining quantitative data, also known as metrics, about their publications as part of the tenure and/or promotion process. Metrics vary by academic discipline and the importance placed on certain scholarly activities and publication types (books, book chapters, journal articles, reviews, conference proceedings, creative works, etc.) by those disciplines. Although some metrics are publication-based, others - like the h-index - estimate a scholar's full impact by applying citation data from their corpus of work.
While quantitative metrics should not be considered an effective substitute for qualitative measures of scholarship and rigor, they can help researchers tell a story about their research and its impact that is appealing to both Tenure & Promotion committees and administrators.
The following resources emphasize both qualitative and quantitative research evaluation, and they advocate for tools and methods that are open, transparent, and accessible to the researcher.
This guide was reused and adapted from Promotion & Tenure Resource Guide, by Iowa State University Library. Available: https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/c.php?g=49493&p=318774.
