شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

The use of bibliometrics in research evaluation is rapidly gaining popularity and importance. It is becoming an essential tool to assess and stimulate research productivity, guide decisions in research funding and benchmark with peer institutions. This chapter focuses on bibliometric analysis of research performance in the Faculty of Medicine (FM) at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Data are obtained from the Curriculum Vitae and the databases of Scopus and ISI Web of Science. Performance of the FM is compared to similar data obtained from 1997 to 2007 for 123 medical schools registered at the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC). The indicators applied include: number of papers, total number of citations, average citations per paper, percentile journal ranking per discipline, impact factor (IF), Adjusted IF (Adjusted IF is the Journal Impact Factor (IF) adjusted for the type of publication and author position of each investigator), impact index, and funding. Collaboration patterns within and among the departments at the FM are presented. The targets established for FM can be partially attributed to increasing, as per Scopus, the number of articles by 4.7-fold, the number of articles per faculty per year by 4.0-fold, and extramural funding by 3.7-fold, in 10 years. This improved the quality of research productivity at promotion without decreasing promotion success rate, and increased the number of faculty members eligible for tenure or long-term contract. The average amount of funding required at FM per investigator to achieve the set target is determined. Applying a basket of bibliometric indicators provides an overview of the research productivity of the investigator, department and medical school. Bibliometrics complement rather than replace peer assessment, they guide decision-making and facilitate benchmarking. (Author’s abstract)