extended · article · 2018

The bibliometric quotient (BQ), or how to measure a researcher’s performance capacity: A Bayesian Poisson Rasch model

Rüdiger Mutz; Hans‐Dieter Daniel; Richard M. Smith

Regarding evaluation of individual researchers, the bibliometric indicators approach has been increasingly discussed recently, but there are some problems involved with it: construct definition, measurement errors, level of scale, dimensionality, normalization. Based on a psychometric model, the Rasch model, we developed a measuring scale for the theoretical construct ‘researcher’s performance capacity,’ defined as the competency of a researcher to write influential papers. The aim was a scale that is one-dimensional and continuous, is applicable to bibliometric count variables, and takes measurement errors into account. In this paper we present the psychometric model (Bayesian Poisson Rasch model, BPR) and its assumptions and examine the behavior of the model under various sampling conditions. For a sample of N = 254 researchers in a quantitative methodology section of an undisclosed Ge...