The work applies the funnel plot methodology to measure and visualize uncertainty in the research performance of Italian universities in the science disciplines. The performance assessment is carried out at both discipline and overall university level. The findings reveal that for most universities the citation-based indicator used gives insufficient statistical evidence to infer that their research productivity is inferior or superior to the average. This general observation is one that we could indeed expect in a higher education system thatis essentially non-competitive. The question is whether the introduction of uncertainty inperformance reporting, while technically sound, could weaken institutional motivation towork towards continuous improvement.

From rankings to funnel plots: The question of accounting for uncertainty when assessing university research performance / Abramo, Giovanni; D'Angelo, Andrea Ciriaco; Grilli, Leonardo. - In: JOURNAL OF INFORMETRICS. - ISSN 1751-1577. - STAMPA. - 10:(2016), pp. 854-862. [10.1016/j.joi.2016.07.005]

From rankings to funnel plots: The question of accounting for uncertainty when assessing university research performance

GRILLI, LEONARDO
2016

Abstract

The work applies the funnel plot methodology to measure and visualize uncertainty in the research performance of Italian universities in the science disciplines. The performance assessment is carried out at both discipline and overall university level. The findings reveal that for most universities the citation-based indicator used gives insufficient statistical evidence to infer that their research productivity is inferior or superior to the average. This general observation is one that we could indeed expect in a higher education system thatis essentially non-competitive. The question is whether the introduction of uncertainty inperformance reporting, while technically sound, could weaken institutional motivation towork towards continuous improvement.
2016
10
854
862
Abramo, Giovanni; D'Angelo, Andrea Ciriaco; Grilli, Leonardo
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1065827
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