Bibliometric Index for Academic Leadership

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel bibliometric index designed to measure academic leadership by considering research output and efficiency, validated through studies of principal investigators in China and the USA.

Contribution

The paper develops and tests a new leadership index based on bibliometric data, addressing a gap in measuring academic leadership beyond traditional output metrics.

Findings

Higher leadership index scores are associated with top national universities.

Strong leadership and efficiency are not exclusive to top-tier universities.

The index can inform academic evaluation and resource allocation.

Abstract

Academic leadership is essential for research innovation and impact. Until now, there has been no dedicated measure of leadership by bibliometrics. Popular bibliometric indices are mainly based on academic output, such as the journal impact factor and the number of citations. Here we develop an academic leadership index based on readily available bibliometric data that is sensitive to not only academic output but also research efficiency. Our leadership index was tested in two studies on peer-reviewed journal papers by extramurally-funded principal investigators in the field of life sciences from China and the USA, respectively. The leadership performance of these principal investigators was quantified and compared relative to university rank and other factors. As a validation measure, we show that the highest average leadership index was achieved by principal investigators at top national universities in both countries. More interestingly, our results also indicate that on an individual basis, strong leadership and high efficiency are not necessarily associated with those at top-tier universities nor with the most funding. This leadership index may become the basis of a comprehensive merit system, facilitating academic evaluation and resource management.