Different considerations guide the weights associated with finalized work of different nature.

Impact of Scholarly Research

‘Impact’ is the criterion that determines the relative importance of the scholarly work. Hence, in general, (i) printed material has a higher value due to its larger and more lasting impact than conference presentations; (ii) in a majority of disciplines, journal articles are given a higher value over other types of printed material. Not all journals carry the same importance. Leading journals typically are more competitive to publish in and have wider readership and influence on the literature. Consistent with Koç University mission to be a Center of Excellence, publications in leading journals carry greater importance. In fields where faculty members are expected to publish their scholarly work in the form of a book, books published by leading book publishers and university presses carry greater importance.

Achievements of primary value

• Journal articles and citations.
  • The inclusion of a journal into the AHCI, SCI, SSCI and its impact factor are considered as primary criteria of importance for achievement. This category overall carries the highest weight due to its larger impact. Citation is a significant indicator of quality and appreciation of the research work by peers. However, as the level of citations varies from field to field, such differences are recognized in the evaluations. The global averages for publication rates and weight normalized citation scores in different fields are available in various databases (see Appendix 5 for available databases in the Library). Faculty members are expected to publish in high impact journals of their fields. A publication in a leading journal of a field is considered more important than higher number of articles published in journals with lower impact. Collaborative work is encouraged; however, the independent research contributions of the faculty member should be evident and documentable.
• Significant achievements of rare occurrence
  • The publication of a book of a scholarly nature by a prominent publisher leads to a large impact. Editing a book has a lesser weight than authoring one.
  • Recognitions such as a prize or an award, selections to an important board or committee, receiving unusual citations for work spanning a long term lead to a large impact.
  • Promotions (such as from Assistant to Associate Professor) are also seen in this category. These achievements are the result of long term efforts and happen only a few times during the career of a scholar. Consequently, a large weight is given to such achievements. The recognition of accomplishments of this nature is important for faculty to engage in important long-term projects.

In addition, book chapters, conference proceedings both invited and refereed as well as invitations for plenary and keynote addresses may have primary value, particularly in some areas. For example, the acceptance rates of talks in certain conferences can be higher than the acceptance rates for articles in journals in specific fields. Some of these papers become seminal works used as seminar materials for graduate courses and reference papers for basic research. The review of the originality, editor and publisher reputation, and the stature of other contributors and affiliations may serve as guidance.

Other than these exceptions, refereed book chapters, and conference proceedings, plenary and keynote addresses, conference presentations, and research funding, described in the next section, are considered as other achievements that are of lower impact.

Other Achievements

The classification below, with the exceptions mentioned above, covers the impact of the majority of such contributions.

• Refereed Book Chapters and Conference Proceedings. The value and impact of these scholarly works exhibit great variability. Stature of the editor and the publisher usually certifies the quality of the contribution. An additional consideration for this ordering is that a select subset of the work of this nature do eventually make it to journals with a greater impact. Conference abstracts are not included in this category of work.
• Plenary and Keynote Addresses. These contributions are important achievements, but their impact is not as lasting as printed material. If such addresses lead to printed articles, they may carry a higher value than usual conference proceeding articles. Usually, these kinds of achievements follow extensive publications of high impact in a field.
• Conference Presentations. This category has a wide spectrum in value, based on the nature and competitiveness of the conference, its impact as measured sometimes by being refereed or not, invited and contributed, acceptance statistics and the nature of the presentation. The rationale of attribution of a secondary value in general is that the good work eventually does make it to journals and hence does receive the due credit.
• Research Funding. Faculty members are supported to acquire research funding through the Research, Project Development and Technology Transfer Directorate. Research funding is necessary to attract and mentor graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, to develop and maintain research infrastructure and to sustain scholarly activities. Research funding also reflects the recognition of the individual’s research by external peers. Amount of funding may vary from field to field. Amount of research funding received is not considered as a criterion used for promotions.
• Patents. Scientific research may lead to intellectual property in the form of patents. Patents embodying innovative scientific research receive recognition in annual evaluations. However, they should not be viewed as direct substitutes for achievements of primary value such as publishing in leading journals that form the basis of evaluations for promotions and contract renewals.