TOUGH: The Measure of Merit in Psychological Science

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics and Scientometrics
• Research Evaluation
• Scientific Career Development

Background:

• Scientific career progression relies heavily on merit evaluation.
• Current metrics, like the h-index, inadequately capture the multifaceted nature of scientific merit.
• A need exists for more comprehensive measures of research impact and quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose novel metrics for evaluating scientific merit.
• To introduce the t, o, u, and g indexes as complements to the h-index.
• To enhance the assessment of scientists' contributions beyond citation counts.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual development of new bibliometric indicators.
• Theoretical framework for complementary merit assessment.
• Analysis of the limitations of existing metrics like the h-index.

Main Results:

• The h-index alone is insufficient for a complete evaluation of scientific merit.
• The proposed t, o, u, and g indexes offer additional dimensions for assessing research contributions.
• These new indexes aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of a scientist's impact.

Conclusions:

• The h-index should be augmented with supplementary metrics for robust scientific merit evaluation.
• The t, o, u, and g indexes represent a step towards more holistic research assessment.
• Adoption of these complementary metrics can lead to fairer and more accurate evaluations of scientists.