R package for producing beamplots as a preferred alternative to the h index when assessing single researchers (based on downloads from Web of Science)

TL;DR

This paper introduces beamplots generated via an R package as a superior visual alternative to the h index for evaluating individual researchers' impact, utilizing Web of Science download data.

Contribution

It presents a novel visualization method, beamplots, and an R package, BibPlots, for assessing researcher impact more effectively than traditional h index metrics.

Findings

Beamplots provide clearer visual insights into researcher performance.

The R package BibPlots facilitates easy creation of beamplots from Web of Science data.

Beamplots outperform h index in conveying research impact.

Abstract

We propose the use of beamplots - which can be produced by using the R package BibPlots and WoS downloads - as a preferred alternative to h index values for assessing single researchers.