เดี๋ยวนี้มีการใช้ citation index เป็นตัวบอกคุณภาพของวารสาร และบอกน้ำหนักของผลงานวิจัยแต่ละชิ้น รวมทั้งบอกความสามารถหรือผลสำเร็จของนักวิจัยด้วย ใครมีผลงานตีพิมพ์ในวารสารที่ impact factor สูงก็เป็นที่ชื่นชม แต่ก็มีผู้ชี้ให้เห็นจุดอ่อนของ impact factor ดังในอีเมล์ ของ ผอ. พรทิพย์ กาญจนนิยต แห่ง Fullbright ดังนี้
As promised, let me share with you an article on ‘The Tyranny of Citations’, written by Philip G. Altbach in International Higher Education No. 43, Spring 06 na ka.
He reminded readers that ‘……..the citation system was invented mainly to understand how scientific discoveries and innovations are communicated and how research functions’….therefore, the earlier intention was not meant to be a tool for evaluation of scientists or universities or academic systems.
On the whole, the citation systems tend to have the following:
1. Overemphasis on hard sciences far more than humanities
2. Most research studies published in major English-language journals
3. Used as tool to assess quality of departments/universities and to rank institutions
He concluded that the citation is being misused, unfair to those being evaluated and ranked. This includes developing countries and small industrialized countries that don’t use English as the language of higher education.
‘Creative research in universities around the world is downplayed because of the control of the narrow paradigms of the citation analysis system.
The hard sciences are given too much attention, and the system is particularly hard on the humanities. Scholarship that might be published in ‘nonacademic’ outlets, including books and popular journals are ignored.’
It seems that we’re still challenged by the ways we do and think to ensure that social and human sciences are appropriately considered, especially in terms of ways to promote professional development and quality indicators. In the near future, when more and more integration is made between these two main fields of S&T and social and human sciences, another set of indicators needs to be considered too na ka.
There’s another article mentioning about the money-making business in education but let me do it next time then na ka.
Cheers.
Porntip
สรุปว่า การใช้ citation index บอกคุณภาพสถาบัน ต้องระมัดระวัง ต้องคำนึงถึงปัจจัยอีกหลายอย่างที่ทำให้ citation index ต่างกัน
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