Beyond Journal Impact Factor: The Sociology of Science and the Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary Education Research Program at the National Science Foundation

Session Type: Invited Session

Abstract

REESE, an education research funding program at NSF, was conceived with the goal of bringing a range of disciplines into constructive contact. As is discussed in this symposium, there is more to the study and evaluation of such a multidisciplinary program than can be addressed solely through Journal Impact Factor. The first presentation discusses cutting-edge scientometric techniques for tracking connections between REESE research communities by focusing on publications. The second presentation discusses the implications of such factors as research design and disciplinary orientation for measures of the influence of REESE projects. The third presentation addresses the disciplinarity of the REESE project teams and the development of human and social capital. The discussant places the presentations in the context of the debate about the over-weighting of Journal Impact Factor as a measure of the value of an individual researcher, project, or portfolio of research.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Cosponsor

• AERA Sessions

Chair

• Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR), National Science Foundation

Papers

• Who Influences Whom? The Effects of Disciplinary Background and Affiliation on the Diffusion of Knowledge in the Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering Program - Alan Porter, Georgia Insitute of Technology; David Schoeneck, Search Technologies, Inc.; Gregg Solomon, National Science Foundation

• Productivity, Impact, and Research Design in the Evaluation of Education Research at the National Science Foundation - Carolina Milesi, NORC at the University of Chicago; Kevin L. Brown, NORC at the University of Chicago; Barbara Schneider, Michigan State University

• The Science of Team Science: Project Personnel and the Development of Human and Social Capital in Multidisciplinary Research - Sarah-Kay McDonald, National Science Foundation; Heena Lakhani, University of Washington - Seattle

Discussant

• John T. Bruer, James S. McDonnell Foundation