Inspec Analytics: tools for engineering, computing & physics research

Inspec and Inspec Analytics from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, are highly specialised discovery and research intelligence tools that provide detailed insights into research trends and patterns across physics and engineering disciplines at both local and global levels. The granularity of the Inspec index makes it easy to analyse research output by organisation and/or specific subjects, allowing you to monitor research output over time, compare output between organisations, stay up to date with emerging trends, find collaboration opportunities and identify the most relevant  journals and conferences to publish work.

From 2021, all IET journals will become Open Access. This approach builds on a strategy that began in 2012 when the IET launched its first open access journal, The Journal of Engineering. The IET now has 15 wholly open access journals with open access publication routes in the remaining 27 journals. 

To Access Inspec Analytics, first go to Inspec, then underneath the search bar, click ‘Go to Inspec Analytics’

For training and tips on using Inspec and Inspec Analytics to inform your research strategy, and identifying emerging trends in your field, contact Ellie Downes, Research Librarian at e.c.downes@swansea.ac.uk

For further information about Inspec Analytics, check out some of their guides here;

Inspec Analytics user guide and videos: https://inspec-analytics.theiet.org/inspec-analytics-user-guide/ 

Sources indexed in Inspec: https://www.theiet.org/media/6168/inspec-active-journals.pdf  

More about Inspec’s subject classifications: https://www.theiet.org/publishing/inspec/inspec-content-coverage/inspec-classification/  

New issue of Journal Citation Reports

Journal citation reports with 2017 data is now available. It now includes citations from the book citation index, widening coverage.

To go into JCR login to Web of Science http://wok.mimas.ac.uk, click the purple access button and you will see a link to Journal Citation Reports at the top of the screen.

To see journal rankings in your subject area, select the right category from the area on the left and click Submit.

JCR Fact Sheet

Quick tour video

You may also like to look at the Elsevier rival to JCR, SJR Scimago journal and country rank.

Remember that although these metrics can be useful in finding good journals, all statistics have their flaws and there is no guarantee that an individual article in a journal with a high impact factor will be cited a lot. It’s also worth remembering that REF do not take into account an impact factor when scoring an article. JCR and SJR can be useful in helping you to choose a journal but it is best to use other methods as well, such as the opinion of colleagues, your own reading of a journal or your knowledge of the editors.

If you would like help please contact iss-research@swansea.ac.uk

Research Councils UK endorse responsible metrics

The movement for responsible metrics gained further momentum in the UK with RCUK releasing a press release this month to announce that they are signing the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and issuing new guidance in support of this:

Central to this guidance is a steer to not place undue emphasis on the journal in which papers are published, but assess the content of specific papers, when considering the impact of an individual researcher’s contribution.

Their action plan (PDF) is a neat summary of responsible metrics considerations. The statement was released the day before HEFCE’s Responsible Metrics event in London on Feb 8th.

Responsible metrics & UK HE

HEFCE’s “Forum for the Responsible Use of Metrics” currently have open a survey for institutions (one response per institution is required) to find out how institutions are implementing policies on the responsible use of metrics:

Responses will be used in order to develop advice to the sector on practical ways to implement the culture of responsible research metrics using the principles/frameworks outlined above. It will also inform any recommendations the Forum makes to UKRI. Based on the responses received the Forum will consider whether to develop an agreement with similar ambitions to DORA, utilising The Metric Tide report, which aligns with the UK research base.

The Metric Tide report came out in 2015 and included recommendations for institutions (p.12ff). Some institutions have developed policies on responsible metrics – a list can be found at the top of this page on the Bibliomagician blog. Lizzie Gadd also published this article on the same blog which reports on her annual surveys of the bibliometrics community. It will be interesting to see if the HEFCE survey shows similar results.

Institutions are assessed partially on metrics for the world rankings and for some areas of the REF. Metrics can also be used for funding decisions, promotion, job applications, decisions on where to publish (e.g. using the Journal Impact Factor or other rankings of journals). This is more common in some subject areas and countries than others. If you want to learn more about responsible metrics, the Leiden Manifesto video is a good introduction to the issues:

The Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics from Diana Hicks on Vimeo.