The pros and cons of the AERES model of bibliometric evaluation

The French higher education and research evaluation body (AERES, Agence d’évaluation de la recherche et de l’enseignement supérieur) was set up to carry out evaluations in the French university system. One of the key criteria used by AERES experts is the number of publications per researcher. Nicolas Holzschuch has studied the pros and cons of this method of evaluation. Some aspects of the method have proved controversial, including the way articles are counted depending on the field of research and the creation of lists of journals by categories of prestige. However, implementing the evaluation process has made researchers focus more on publication, which has had a positive impact on research.
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