The purpose of this project is to analyze the consequences that the implementation of bibliometric assessment systems has on academic research. The 'landscape' of research evaluation will be charted through a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, and effects on publication practices among scholars will be analyzed in order to investigate how auditing influences the organization of research. The first part of the project focuses on the methods, techniques and actors involved in the assessment structures of academic performance, while the second part studies its consequences for publication practices of individual researchers.
The focus on the materialities and practices of bibliometric measurement distinguishes the project from previous research on research evaluation. In tying the practice, the institutional and the political level together our project provides a unique perspective on the emergence of a ´metric culture´. Using a framework that combines theories about the ´audit´ and ´risk´ society with models of disciplinary differences we aim to take the analysis beyond discussions about various systems for evaluating, or indicators of impact, and to place it in a larger context of social and organizational change. This broader viewpoint is required in order to comprehend the co-evolution of assessment systems and techniques of measurement; a perspective where 'metrics' is not only a symptom but also a practice that in itself contributes to these developments.