Bibliometrics is often associated with publication counts and citation impact indicators, but bibliometric analysis can also be a powerful tool for monitoring and evaluating the quality of scientific research with research program-relevant breadth and depth. EvalForward, a community of practice on evaluation for food security, agriculture, and rural development, recently hosted a robust forum discussion on the use of bibliometrics in evaluation of Quality of Science (QoS).

Etienne Vignola-Gagné, an analyst at Science-Metrix, was one of the contributors to a technical note developed for CGIAR Advisory Services that offered recommendations on using bibliometrics to evaluate QoS. He wrote, “One of our intentions with this note was to showcase how bibliometrics now offers indicators for a much broader range of dimensions, including cross-disciplinarity, gender equity, preprinting as an open science practice, or the prevalence of complex multi-national collaborations.”

These insights from bibliometric analysis have the potential to support and improve future research and innovation.

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