The Bibliometrics and Research Impact Community Conference 2021 will be held on 27-29 April hosted virtually by the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) with an aim to advance the skills and knowledge of library and information professionals supporting research impact services and initiatives. Participants will come together to exchange tips, learn practical techniques, and hear about how bibliometrics and research impact are being applied in different institutional settings and subject areas.
Mike Taylor, Head of Metrics Development at Digital Science, will be presenting a session entitled “Growth of the Data-Driven Enterprise and the Importance of Stories”. If you are attending BRIC this year, make sure you attend Mike’s talk – it takes place on Thursday 29 April from 2:30 – 3:10 pm EDT – read the abstract below.
Growth of the Data-Driven Enterprise and the Importance of Stories
Research institutions and publishers have long been accustomed to using bibliometrics, scientometrics and altmetrics to understand the differences between journals and research performance: we are well-accustomed to how our community communicates, and the values that we share. And we love numbers.
The last year has seen a sharp growth in virtualisation, and for many organisations, remote working is the new reality; for others there’s an increased focus on using data-driven techniques to hone decision making.
Technology-driven commercial enterprises are no different. This last year has seen a dramatic up-tick in the number of research organisations paying new attention to using data to understand research. Not unsurprisingly, they’re turning to people who understand scientometrics and altmetrics: but there is a significant cultural gap. Corporates are less willing to rely on bibliometric norms, more interested in the underlying narratives. For them, the idea of broader impact, of economic value is natural. Their interest in this data is as a skeleton to understand the progress of research, its acceptance in society and its potential for economic growth. They look to persuade, to develop and explore the future, not to report and assess the past.
Much of their ambition is to increase the efficiency with which they can build partnerships with academia, accelerate their research programmes and transform their business: understanding the way they think and work is crucial to the research institution seeking to benefit from these relationships.
Mike Taylor of Digital Science has been working with organisations from several sectors for the last year, and – with the help of unicorns, maps and bubbles – will share some insights of working with commercial organisations, explore the nuances between the mores of technological enterprises and academia, and of the pleasures of using data to weave stories for enthusiastic and receptive audiences.
Speakers
Mike Taylor, Head of Metrics Development, Digital Science
Mike Taylor is Head of Metrics Development at Digital Science. He’s new to the company, having spent many years working in Elsevier’s R&D group and in the Metrics and Analytics Team. Mike works with many community groups, including FORCE11, RDA and NISO, and is well known in the scholarly metrics community. He’s also notorious amongst the Oxford theatrical scene as an actor, producer and director with ElevenOne Theatre. In his spare time he provides the entertainment for many a hen night with the Murder Mystery company, Smoke and Mirrors.
Mike is studying for a PhD in alternative metrics at the University of Wolverhampton.