Clarivate Analytics chosen to provide citation data for REF 2021
Research England has announced that Clarivate Analytics’ Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) has been chosen to provide the citation metrics for the next UK research assessment exercise – REF2021.
The data supplied by ISI includes the number of times a publication has been cited in other academic publications – referred to as citation counts. According to the latest Research England press release this has been requested by 11 of the 34 expert panels, and will be used to feed into the peer-review process during the research assessment phase of the REF. ISI will use the citation data collected by Web of Science, and then match it to the publication records supplied by institutions. Regarding concerns about the accuracy of the matching process, RE have offered reassurance:
[I]nstitutions submitting during REF 2021 will be able to view the citation counts for items they plan to submit to the REF in the relevant units of assessment and confirm that a correct match has been obtained. (RE, Press release 05/12/2018)
ISI have also confirmed that they will provide an API tool that will help institutions submit their assessment data more easily. They are also providing an online portal where institutions can review citation data, and this will sit separately to the REF submission system.
Clarivate have many arms in the academic research ecosystem, including the referencing software Endnote, the publication submission system Scholar One, and the research information system Converis. They also have a long history of involvement in previous UK research assessment exercises, which was formally known then as RAE before it was changed to REF (Research Excellence Framework).
The full Research England press release can be read here.