Talk given at the LISA VII Conference (June 2014, Naples, Italy). Abstract: Finding measures for research impact, be it for individuals, institutions, instruments or projects, has gained a lot of popularity. More papers than ever are being written on new impact measures, and problems with existing measures are being pointed out on a regular basis. Funding agencies require impact statistics in their reports, job candidates incorporate them in their resumes, and publication metrics have even been used in at least one recent court case. To support this need for research impact indicators, the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) has developed a service which provides a broad overview of various impact measures. In this presentation we discuss how the ADS can be used to quench the thirst for impact measures. We will also discuss a couple of the lesser known indicators in the metrics overview and the main issues to be aware of when compiling publication-based metrics in the ADS, namely author name ambiguity and citation incompleteness.

1. LibraryandInformationServicesinAstronomyVII~Naples,Italy~2014
EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
Edwin Henneken
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
1

2. LibraryandInformationServicesinAstronomyVII~Naples,Italy~2014
EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
2
Metrics
“performing informetrics"
study quantitative aspects of information:
+ bibliometrics (recorded information)
+ scientometrics (science)

3. LibraryandInformationServicesinAstronomyVII~Naples,Italy~2014
EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
3
Metrics
“performing informetrics"
“Create statements about the culture, sociology, evolution
&
impact of publishing (in astronomy)”

4. Larivière, V. (2012), Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 38 (6), 12-17
Titles Abstracts
Bibliometrics in Literature

5. LibraryandInformationServicesinAstronomyVII~Naples,Italy~2014
EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
5
Metrics
Caveat Emptor
“Not everything that can be counted counts,
and not everything that counts can be counted.”
Albert Einstein

6. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
6
ADS
Different Audiences Have Different Needs
+ Researchers
+ Project Managers
+ Publishers
+ Librarians

7. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
7
ADS
Different Audiences Have Different Needs
+ Researchers
+ Project Managers
+ Publishers
+ Librarians
Generate publication statistics for person,
group, project, instrument, grant, …

8. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
8
ADS
Different Audiences Have Different Needs
+ Researchers
+ Project Managers
+ Publishers
+ Librarians
Generate publication statistics for person,
group, project, instrument, grant, …
Explore trends in journal content,
journal position, impact

9. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
9
ADS
Different Audiences Have Different Needs
+ Researchers
+ Project Managers
+ Publishers
+ Librarians
Generate publication statistics for person,
group, project, instrument, grant, …
Explore trends in journal content,
journal position, impact
“canned” metrics

10. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
10
ADS
Different Audiences Have Different Needs
+ Researchers
+ Project Managers
+ Publishers
+ Librarians
Generate publication statistics for person,
group, project, instrument, grant, …
Explore trends in journal content,
journal position, impact
“canned” metrics
“custom” metrics

11. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
11
Computing
Canned
“Select Records & Press a Button”

12. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
12
Computing Canned
“What are the publication statistics for Adam G. Riess, for first-authored,
refereed papers, published in the time period 2000-2013?”
http://labs.adsabs.harvard.edu/adsabs/page/help/search
author:”^Riess, Adam G.” year:2000-2013 property:"refereed"
For query syntax, visit:

13. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA

14. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Get report data in Excel
Get report data in PDF

15. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
15
Computing Canned
A Few Words About the Metrics Results
+ tori
+ Read10

16. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Read10 index
“current readership rate for papers
published in the most recent 10 years,
normalized for number of authors”
tori index
“indicator for the total amount of scholarly work
that others have devoted to his/her work,
measured in the volume of research papers.”
Pepe, A. & Kurtz, M.J. (2012), PLoS ONE, 7, 46428
Kurtz, M.J. et al. (2005), Journal of the American Society
for Information Science and Technology, 56, 111

17. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
17
Computing
Custom
“Meet the Powerful New ADS Query Syntax!”

18. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
18
Computing
Custom (example)
“How has the role of a given journal changed over time for a given field?”

19. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
19
Computing Custom
http://labs.adsabs.harvard.edu/adsabs/page/help/searchFor query syntax, visit:
“How has the role of a given journal changed over time for a given field?”
For example: “The Astrophysical Journal (main section)” & “weak lensing”
+ How many papers on the subject appear in the journal?
+ How often is the journal cited by papers on the subject?

20. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
20
Computing Custom
http://labs.adsabs.harvard.edu/adsabs/page/help/searchFor query syntax, visit:
“How has the role of a given journal changed over time for a given field?”
For example: “The Astrophysical Journal (main section)” & “weak lensing”
"weak lensing" bibstem:"ApJ" -page:"L*" year:2013
references(“weak lensing" year:2013) bibstem:”ApJ” -page:"L*"

21. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA

22. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Computing and Using
Metrics in ADS
22
Using
+ download results (Excel, PDF)
+ generate results programmatically

23. EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
Generate results programmatically
Application Programming Interface
https://github.com/adsabs/adsabs-dev-api
To obtain access to the ADS Developer API you must do two things:
!
1. Log in to the newest version of the ADS search interface
(with existing “Classic ADS” account, otherwise make new)
2. Apply for and receive a developer token using the Signup Form

24. LibraryandInformationServicesinAstronomyVII~Naples,Italy~2014
EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
24
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
Albert Einstein
READ IT!
Nature, vol. 446, 870-872
M
etrics are Useful,
in the Right Context

25. LibraryandInformationServicesinAstronomyVII~Naples,Italy~2014
EdwinHenneken,SmithsonianAstrophysicalObservatory,USA
25
ehenneken@cfa.harvard.edu
@adsabs
adslabs.org
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/beyond-bibliometrics
orcid: 0000-0003-4264-2450