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Metrics: Do metrics matter?

Nature volume 465, pages 860–862 (2010)Cite this article

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Many researchers believe that quantitative metrics determine who gets hired and who gets promoted at their institutions. With an exclusive poll and interviews, Nature probes to what extent metrics are really used that way.

No scientist's career can be summarized by a number. He or she spends countless hours troubleshooting experiments, guiding students and postdocs, writing or reviewing grants and papers, teaching, preparing for and organizing meetings, participating in collaborations, advising colleagues, serving on editorial boards and more — none of which is easily quantified.

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Authors
  1. Alison Abbott
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  2. David Cyranoski
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  3. Nicola Jones
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  4. Brendan Maher
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  5. Quirin Schiermeier
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  6. Richard Van Noorden
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Additional information

See Editorial, page 845 , and metrics special at http://www.nature.com/metrics . Full results of the survey are available at http://go.nature.com/em7auj .

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Abbott, A., Cyranoski, D., Jones, N. et al. Metrics: Do metrics matter?. Nature 465, 860–862 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/465860a

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