Research Newsletter - Issue 103: Responsible Use of Metrics Spotlight
Launch of the Responsible Use of Research Metrics (RURM) open educational resource
The responsible use of research metrics forms an important part of the move towards Open Research. Metrics, used responsibly, play an important role in assessing research visibility and impact. However, an awareness of their limitations is crucial to ensure they are used appropriately and fairly. There is potential for mis-use of metrics - for example, the use of non-normalised metrics when comparing across disciplines, or the use of a single metric to evaluate an individual’s impact.
DCU are a partner on the "Pilot Training on Responsible Use of Research Metrics" project, supported by the National Open Research Forum Stimulus Fund. The aim of the project was to provide a key training and capacity-building resource to help drive the necessary cultural change in evaluation reform for the Irish research landscape, supporting national goals to transition to an open research environment. The output of that project was officially launched on the 31st March 2025 in the beautiful surroundings of the Museum of Literature Ireland.
The Responsible Use of Research Metrics (RURM) module is a self-paced open educational resource that explores the principles and best practices for applying research metrics fairly and transparently, recognising that no single metric tells the whole story. It is intended to be used by researchers and evaluators, as well as those involved in recruitment, research assessment, promotion decisions and anyone contributing to the broader research ecosystem. The module was co-designed by the research communities in a consortium of project partners across Ireland, and it has been evaluated for content and usability by researchers.
In addition to a general introduction to Research Assessment, the module covers the following key aspects:
1. Foundations of Research Metrics
2. Bibliometrics
3. Altmetrics & Emerging Metrics
4. Narrative CVs & Diverse Outputs
5. Open Research & Transparency
6. RURM for Research Assessment
7. Practical Implementation & Resources
We would like to thank the DCU staff and students who participated in the co-design and testing phases, and would now encourage the wider DCU research community to engage with this resource.
Details of the resource are available via the Responsible Metrics section of the DCU Open Research webpage. You can also register here to access the RURM training module.