RIMS Revisited: The Evolution of the Research Impact Measurement Service at UNSW Library

Abstract

For the past seven years, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Library has delivered a service to the university's research community known as RIMS, the Research Impact Measurement Service. The service was designed to support research outcomes through the measurement of publishing impact, both for authors and departmental units. Since its inception in 2007, the service has evolved to meet the needs of researchers and the changing research landscape. The emergence of smarter tools and systems, the impact of the networked environment; changes in scholarly communication and bibliometrics have all contributed to its evolution. This paper will discuss the development of the service, including the imperative to take an agile approach in an ever changing research environment.

Research Management Systems: Systematic Mapping of Literature (2007-2017)

“…From the studies analyzed, Table VII and Figure 6 show that the most frequent type of contribution was Process, with 36%, followed by Model with 27%, Framework, and Classification with 12% each, Mapping with 6%, and finally Method and Tool with 3%, respectively. This type of contributions coincides with the reported studies in the literature, of note being: Process [14], [15]; Model [16]; Framework [18]; Classification and Mapping [19], and Method and Tool [20]. One of the most representative articles on mapping in relation to the Process contribution states that a cluster analysis process was carried out on the bibliographic data of Slovenian researchers and the disciplines to which they belong, using their country's SICRIS, and from there it discussed the understanding of the structure of collaboration and cooperation in sciences and the research and development policies [15].…”

“…Research on CRIS has made significant contributions to strengthen such systems and to ensure their interoperability. Contributions have been made regarding (a) processes that had allowed institutions to increase and enhance their publication count compared to previous years, when their collections were handled with a production virtually invisible to the community of specialists [14], [15]; (b) modeling, with the introduction of new publication models [16], including open access with the help of CRIS, which made it possible to establish links between individual researchers, their publications and the funding obtained; (c) development of frameworks [17] for the management of information associated with research, with a proposal to use the rapid application development method to design reusable modules and integrate frameworks to ensure the security and integration of the data [18]; (d) mapping and classifications, with proposals made for the conceptualization of science based on collaboration and mapping of the researchers' competencies [19], this type of information has been obtained from the SICRIS (Slovenian Current Research Information System), Slovenia's database of national research projects; (e) methods and tools, such as the evaluation of an exploratory project on new techniques for the development of collections at the University of Manchester Library [20], using innovative methods to ensure the construction of collections for the future and to promote automation, proposing a prospective method: to use its CRIS for the development of its collections. Also, the use of Symplectic Elements© has also been reported as a tool to more efficiently measure the impact of their research.…”

Towards digital scholarship services in China’s university libraries

“…Research impact measurement is another type of highly used services at the publication stage. According to Drummond (2014), these services are expected to assist researchers in quantifying and qualifying the impact of their published work. Furthermore, Drummond (2014) explained that research impact measurement services involves a reporting service, where impact reports are generated using various bibliometric measures to demonstrate scholarly impact.…”

How do we define the policy impact of public health research? A systematic review

“…However, others are more inclusive and list other forms of quantifiable impacts as part of their definition. Research impact for the London School of Economics and Political Science Public Policy Group (PPG) is a “ recorded or otherwise auditable occasion of influence from academic research on another actor or organization ” ([ 43 ], p. 310; [ 44 ], p. 7). The PPG website [ 45 ] adds to this definition by indicating that “ impact is usually demonstrated by pointing to a record of the active consultation, consideration, citation, discussion, referencing or use of a piece of research ”.…”