Cited References Searches for Faculty

The library is asked to do cited reference searches for faculty members applying for promotion or tenure. The number of cited references is an indication of how one researcher's work impacts on others in their respective specialty. There is an assumption that more cited references are a better gauge of the quality of the research. This maybe true, but there are certain some caveats. For example in the 1980s Fleischman and Pons wrote a paper on cold fusion, but their theory was really shot down. In this case a high number of cited references did not indicate quality. There could also be a controversial paper that receives many cited references from people expressing opinions on both sides of the issue. For example touch therapy in nursing is debatable, and a paper on that topic would yield researchers supporting both sides of the issue.

We search Scopus and the Web of Science to determine the number of cited references for each candidate. We also search Scifinder Scholar if the specialty is in a chemical related area. Since each of these databases has different journal coverage, we report the highest number. We do not use Google Scholar since that database included non-refereed papers. Some people fight tooth and nail for every cited reference they can get.

The Promotion and Tenure committee obviously uses many factors when evaluating candidates. They look at the quality of the journals which are often determined through the impact factor. There is always the "political factor."