“Phenomenon-oriented research encompasses various fields and disciplines, where the focus is on studying and understanding specific phenomena.”
FoRPhOS recognizes the transformative global challenges of our times - migration, terrorism, natural disasters, pandemics, and advanced technology, such as AI. These phenomena aren’t isolated to single disciplines; instead, they demand a cross-disciplinary approach to fully comprehend and effectively address them.
Regrettably, existing evaluation metrics are discipline-bound and overlook the valuable contributions from interdisciplinary or phenomenon-oriented research. Consequently, researchers are often compelled to publish within their specific disciplines to gain recognition and enhance their career prospects, consequently stifling the transdisciplinary exploration and understanding needed for these complex phenomena.
Our primary objective at FoRPhOS is to pioneer a new system of metrics capable of evaluating both individual and institutional efforts in phenomenon-oriented research.
The crux of our initiative is captured in the question: “How can we measure and visualize research impact in phenomenon-oriented research fields that different disciplines contribute to?” Through this, we strive to bring forth an equitable evaluation method that acknowledges the vital role of transdisciplinary contributions.
Our project has two main objectives: refining our methodology and data extraction processes, and applying our metrics and tools to various fields, such as terrorism research, the study of wicked problems, or AI.
We’ll extract data from different resources such as Scopus, Microsoft Academic Graphs, Semantic Scholar, and Crossref. Our earlier study utilized data from Scopus and Semantic Scholar, and we intend to do the same for this project. Despite the access restrictions on some data sources, our commitment to Open Science will guide us in finding the best possible alternatives
By offering this more comprehensive approach to measuring research impact, we believe FoRPhOS can catalyze a fundamental shift in academic evaluation systems. Our hope is that this shift will foster a deeper, more multi-faceted understanding of the global challenges we face, and spur the development of more effective, holistic solutions.