Use of the Publication Forum Classification

Recommendation of the Publication Forum Steering Group

The Publication Forum Steering Group recommends that, to avoid unintended consequences and ethically questionable research practices, publication or citation counts should not be used as assessment criteria in any context.

The JUFO classification should not be used to assess individual researchers

According to the Good Practice in Researcher Evaluation recommendation:

“Assessment of scientific quality is primarily carried out by examining the scientific content of the research. Research metrics may also be used to support the overall assessment when they are relevant to the researcher's field of science.”

Good Practice in Researcher Evaluation

The general recommendation of the DORA Declaration is:

“Do not use journal-based metrics, such as Journal Impact Factors, as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research articles, to assess an individual scientist’s contributions, or in hiring, promotion, or funding decisions.”

DORA Declaration

The third core commitment of the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment also calls for abandoning the “inappropriate uses in research assessment of journal- and publication-based metrics”.

CoARA Agreement

In accordance with these recommendations, the JUFO classification should not be used:

• to assess or compare individual researchers
• as a basis for decisions concerning researcher recruitment, rewards, tenure-track evaluation or individual performance assessment
• as a basis for setting mandatory quantitative publication criteria or targets for researchers
• as a basis for setting mandatory requirements for articles included in doctoral dissertations
• as a condition for conference participation or reimbursement of travel expenses.

Recommendations for employers, evaluators and researchers

Employers and funders: The JUFO classification or other publication venue-based indicators, such as the Journal Impact Factor, should not be used in researcher assessment. Employers and funders must also prohibit evaluators from considering such information when assessing researchers and prohibit researchers from including it in any form in their applications or publication lists.

Evaluators: The JUFO classification or other publication venue-based indicators, such as the Journal Impact Factor, should not be taken into account when assessing researchers.

Researchers: Information on the JUFO classification of publications or other publication venue-based indicators, such as the Journal Impact Factor, should not be included in any form in applications or publication lists.

Use of the JUFO classification in unit-level assessment

When assessing departments and other units within universities and research organisations, research metrics may be used to support qualitative expert assessment. However, the potential effects of metrics on research activities and assessment practices must be taken into account.

If the JUFO classification is used as a tool in unit-level assessment, the national recommendation on the responsible use of publication metrics must be followed. In addition, the following principles should be observed:

• Take into account the limitations on the use of the JUFO classification.
• Use a diverse range of other publication venue-level and publication-level research metrics, while taking into account differences and specific characteristics across disciplines.
• Draw on the expertise of libraries or other bibliometric specialists when producing and interpreting research metrics based on the JUFO classification.
• Communicate openly to staff when and how the JUFO classification is used.
• Consult researchers on the suitability of the JUFO classification for the specific assessment purpose in their field of science or research.

Use of JUFO benchmarking data at unit level

Expert panels assessing research conducted by organisational units may be provided with JUFO benchmarking data solely for examining the publication profiles and internal development of research units. The data should not be used for comparisons between disciplines.

If funding is allocated to university units based on their research output volume, the JUFO classification may be used as one indicator of changes in the average quality of publication output.

Research assessment should recognise the diversity of research activities

In accordance with the first core commitment of the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, research assessment should move beyond a focus solely on publications towards practices that recognise and value the diversity of research activities.

Assessment should also take into account:

• Researchers' contributions to science and society, including research outputs other than articles published in scientific journals, regardless of the language of publication.
• Practices that promote the quality, openness and inclusiveness of research activities, such as peer review, teamwork and collaboration.
• Other research-related activities, such as teaching, leadership, supervision, training and mentoring.