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Measuring Research Quality and Impact - Research Guide

Book Quality and Impact

Book Quality

Books are not traditionally indexed in databases and may be less frequently cited.

Resources that can be used to find citation metrics for books or book chapters include:

One publisher that does provide both citation metrics and altmetrics for their books is Springer Books. On this platform you can view Bookmetrix indicators and metrics for Springer books and chapters, including citations, online Altmetric mentions, online reference manager readers, book reviews, and downloads. This information is located at the top of each record immediately below the book or chapter title and author names.

The prestige of the publisher of a book can be a significant indicator of the quality of the publication. It is important to critically evaluate the quality of the publisher of a book.

To measure the impact of books and similar publications, it is also important to look at how they have been received and used, including:

  • Has the book been reviewed?
  • Has the book received social media mentions?
  • Is the book used as a core or recommended text in University courses?
  • Is the book held in libraries in Australia and internationally?
  • Has the book received any prizes or been included on best seller lists?
  • How many copies of the book have been sold?
  • Has the author been invited to book signings?
  • Is the book available in an e-reader format as well as print?
  • Has the book been included in bibliographies?
  • Has the author been invited to present on the topic related to the book or book chapter?
  • Are there subsequent editions to the book?
  • Are there any translations of the book?

Book Reviews

The following resources are good sources for locating book reviews:

For works of creative writing, the following may also be useful resources:

Library Holdings

An alternative measure of the impact and quality of research published in books is a count of the libraries holding the book, as reported in a national or international catalogue. This measure may be referred to as a libcitation, and is most relevant to book-oriented disciplines such as the humanities and social sciences.

To locate Australian and international library holdings, use the following sources:

Australia

International

Subjects: Research