Research analytics

The Research Analytics Service provides output analysis services at the institutional, faculty, school and individual levels as well as for multi-centre and multidisciplinary areas, including both academic and professional service areas. We help explore and interpret citation data, collaborations, topic areas and author profiles. We use the most appropriate and responsible research metrics to understand the visibility and impact (academic and policy-related) of research outputs, to reveal new insights and to support strategic decision-making.

Examples of support we provide:

• Analysis related to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and strategy
• National and international citation performance and trends
• Institutional bibliometric profile analysis and benchmarking
• Faculty, School and Institute-level research intelligence (such as the analyses to support the yearly IPE)
• Multi-centre and multidisciplinary analyses
• Author profile analysis, which can provide data to help inform potential publication outlets
• Identify current and potential collaborators, including individual authors, collaborating institutions and countries
• Evidence your research strengths, which can be added to your CV or funding applications
• Data visualisations, which can be added to reports and presentations
• Consultations for both individual and larger scale queries
• Training on how to use the available tools on various topics, including bookable courses with a member of our Team, Question and Answer sessions for addressing specific issues and a variety of videos and resources that are accessible 24/7
• Advice regarding the responsible use of research metrics 

Please note that the Team are unable to perform large-scale data-entry or dataset creation, but instead focus on analysis and interpretation of existing datasets.

Consultation and training

Analyses and reports are not standard, therefore an initial consultation may be required to agree on parameters, deliverables and timescales.  If you have a deadline or timescale need, please communicate this in the initial consultation. 

Please visit the Research Support webpages to book courses and question and answer sessions relating to analytics. Please see our research analytics playlist to view video sessions relating to analytics. If you would like a consultation with a member of the Team, please contact research@library.leeds.ac.uk with the details. 

Questions to consider before booking a consultation

Purpose of the consultation
What are the goals of the analysis? Define your research objectives and the specific questions or challenges you aim to address.

Data scope
What specific data are you interested in analysing? For example, do you want to focus on a particular subject area or a specific cohort of researchers?

Timeframe
Are you interested in historical data or recent trends? Clarify the time period you want the analysis to cover.

Analytics and indicators
Which research metrics are relevant to your objectives? The Team can help with this question but you may want to consider this in advance. 

Who
Do your objectives relate to individual researchers, research groups, institutional level or multi-centred? Specify the level at which you want the analysis to be conducted.

Data access and availability
Consider whether there are any limitations or constraints on data availability and whether your project would be better served by creating an initial dataset if appropriate data does not already exist.

Data privacy and ethics
Discuss any potential concerns about data privacy and confidentiality, especially if the analysis involves personal or sensitive data. 

Interpretation and responsible use
How do you plan to use the analyses considering the University’s commitment to DORA and the Leiden Manifesto and what actions might you take based on the insights gained?

We look forward to working with you.

Disclaimer

Results of database and/or dataset intelligence gathering are subject to the limitations of the databases and/or datasets used. There may also be limitations based on the objectives, timescales and nature of the query, plus the availability of the clients and the Research Analytics Service. Results will be reflective of the date the analysis was conducted (for example, citation accrual often increases over time). Certain analyses such as citation count and measures relating to research impact may not be appropriate to conduct if the outputs have been published recently. Although the Research Analytics Service can help with interpretation, it is the responsibility of the client to engage in a timely manner and to determine the suitability and interpretation of the results.