Is the way we measure research impact fair? Responsible research assessment is key to maintaining publishing integrity and supporting our diverse community of authors – this includes measuring research impact from a balanced, holistic perspective.

This is why we have chosen to endorse the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and become an official signatory. Many other publishers, institutions and societies are doing the same, and it’s a move that will help us bring about positive changes for our authors and researchers.

What is DORA?

The overarching goal of DORA is to shift emphasis away from journal-based metrics and assessment, toward article-level metrics and individual author contribution. This supports a broader, more equitable view of research impact.

DORA has laid out a set of 18 recommendations for funding agencies, institutions, publishers, researchers, and metric providers. These outline specific actions that each of these stakeholders can take to improve, and ultimately reform, systems of academic reward.

What will this mean?

By becoming a DORA signatory, we are formally committing to these 5 recommendations for publishers (read them in full here):

1. Greatly reduce emphasis on the journal impact factor as a promotional tool

2. Make available a range of article-level metrics

3. Encourage responsible authorship practices and highlight the specific contributions of each author

4. Remove all reuse limitations on reference lists in research articles

5. Remove or reduce the constraints on the number of references in research articles, and, where appropriate, mandate the citation of primary literature

What happens next?

DORA signature is just the first step. Over the coming year, you will be hearing more from us about the tangible, visible actions we plan to take as we move forward with the adoption of DORA principles. We all share the task of responsible research assessment – you can talk to your Wiley publishing contact, to explore how we can work together to make meaningful change.