Current index: A Proposal for a dynamic rating system for researchers

Abstract

An index is proposed that is based on the h-index and a 3-year publication/citation window. When updated regularly, it shows the current scientific performance of researchers rather than their life-time achievement as indicated by common scientometric indicators. In this respect, the new rating scheme resembles established sports ratings such as in chess or tennis. By the example of ACM SIGMOD E. F. Codd Innovations Award winners and Priestley Medal recipients, we illustrate how the new rating can be represented by a single number and visualized.

Restricting the h-index to a publication and citation time window: A case study of a timed Hirsch index

“…This again reflects the long lasting impact of the publications and the slower ageing. In conclusion, t = 2 as used by Fiala (2014) appears to me as somewhat too small, because it just includes the maximum of most of the curves in Fig. 4.…”

Researcher and Author Impact Metrics: Variety, Value, and Context

“…Similar empirical approaches have been experimented by restricting time window to 1 and 3 years. 35 36 The shorter time window, the lower values of the resultant h -index scores. These indexes can be calculated for various periods of time, depending on specifics of publication and citation traditions across academic disciplines.…”

A variant of the h‐index to measure recent performance

“…The h r ‐index is a generalization of the similar indices mentioned in the Introduction. In particular, the current index h3 of Fiala () can be written in my notation as h3 = h y −3 ( y − 1). The incremental h ‐index of Pan and Fortunato () is based on the time window [ t ‐Δ t , t ], which, in my notation, would be given by r = t − Δ t and y = t .…”

“…h 5 differs from h3, because, for its calculation, also articles from all earlier years are taken into account, whereas only the citations are restricted to the recent years, as in Fiala's approach and in the analysis below. Fiala () has also proposed other variants, labeled h4 and h4′, which utilize a 2‐year publication window in connection with either a 4‐year citation window or a sliding 3‐year citation window, respectively. Furthermore, his h3′‐index comprises all publications, but only the last 3 citation years and therefore corresponds to the index h 5 used by Pan and Fortunato ().…”

“…But they did not further discuss this suggestion. In particular, neither Fiala () nor Pan and Fortunato () have considered the dependence of their indices on the length of the utilized time window. Therefore, the present proposal can be considered a generalization of those suggestions.…”