PROF. A. A. UBACHUKWU DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKASCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIESIMPACT FACTOR JOURNAL PUBLICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF DOCTORAL THESIS PROF. A. A. UBACHUKWU DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. augustine.ubachukwu@unn.edu.ng +2348037734303

Outline • GOALS AND OBJECTIVES • INTRODUCTION • IMPACT FACTOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA • THE CASE OF DOCTORAL STUDENTS • GETTING STARTED • PITFALLS TO AVOID • BENEFITS OF PUBLISHING IN HIGH IMPACT JOURNALS • EVALUATION • CONCLUSION

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES • At the end of the workshop, participants should be able to; • Recognize the importance of research findings and publications. • Appreciate the importance of publishing in Impact Factor Journals. • Know that publishing in Impact Factor Journals is a requirement for a successful Ph.D. • Recognize that publishing in Impact Factor Journals is achievable. • Identify Impact Factor Journals approved by the University. • Identify Predatory/Highjacked Journals in their respective fields.

1. INTRODUCTION • Knowledge is a global enterprise and research publications are of value only when they are published in internationally indexed journals. • University Communities all over the world use publications of research output as a measure of their standard of scholarship. Publishing journal articles in high impact journals is paramount in the academic reputation of any university. • The Webometrics Rankings of World Universities use academic publications as a major criterion.

INTRODUCTION (ctd) The Impact Factor (IF) System: • Introduced by Thomson Reuters of the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) in 1975. • Now used to assess the quality of Journals but not necessarily the quality of individual articles or academics by providing a quantitative tool for ranking and comparing journals. • The journal rankings are published in Journal citation reports (JCR) which includes the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). The list is drawn from web of science (WOS) database.

Other ranking/indexing bodies some of which have gained international acceptance and transparency include; i.SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) and Source Normalized Impact per Journal (SNIP)- both of which draw their lists from Scopus data base(the world’s largest abstract andcitation of peer-reviewed journal articles covering virtually all fields of human endeavour). ii. The Global institute for Scientific Information (GISI), Index Copernicus International (ICI),Research Gate,Open Access Journals Search Engine (OAJSE), etc. These have h-index and percentages as their impact/journal metric values.

2. IMPACT FACTOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA • The use of Impact Factor (IF) in the assessment of academic/research staff creative output in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) came into effect in 2006 by the Professor Chiejina-led Committee. The Purpose of Introduction of IF into UNN: • Standardize and improve the quality of research publications • Stem sharp practises in the appointment and promotion of academic staff. Since the introduction of IF in 2006, pressures have been mounted on the various University administrations in an attempt to destroy it.

In 2015, the University Council under the present administration of Professor Benjamin Ozumba took a decisive position on the IF saga, aimed at salvaging the integrity of our research output as a university. • The dividend of this decision is already being felt in local, national as well as international academic communities: UNN has remained the number 1 University in Nigeria based on the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities in 2016 and 2017. • The 2019 Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings shows UNN is among the three Nigerian Universities ranked among world’s best.

UNN Approved IF Rating Agencies • Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation Reports (JCR, drawn from the Web of Science database) • SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) • Source Normalized Impact Factor per Paper (SNIP) • At least 2, 5, 8 Major Articles in these IF systems should be used for promotion to Senior Lecturers, Readers and Professors respectively.

The postgraduate education offers the highest manpower training needed for the development of any nation. • The quality of postgraduate education is often seen in the quality of research output usually in form of publications which play a significant role in determining its position in World Webometrics. • Today, according to Times Higher Education’s World’s University Rankings (2019), Covenant University is 1st , University of Ibadan 2nd , and UNN is the 3rd in Nigeria, but 5th, 6th, 12th respectively in Africa. • Out of 1,250 higher education institutions on the list, Covenant University is 601-800, UI 801-1000, UNN 1000+. • The postgraduate programmes are designed to develop in-depth knowledge of both theoretical and practical skills for research in the student’s chosen field. 3. THE CASE OF DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Research Skills • Design experiments. • Adopt appropriate statistical methods (theoretical models/methodology) to analyse and interpret data. • Communication- present written and oral reports. • Use of Information Technology (IT).

Revised Postgraduate Studies Regulation (2015) for Award of PhD Degree. • IF has recently been approved by Senate as a precondition for award of Ph.D of the University. • At least an acceptance letter in any of the IF indexed journals approved by the University for Promotion. • In the absence of acceptance letter, evidence of a galley-proof version of the article can be accepted. • The student shall show evidence of attendance at and presentation of paper in a National or International conference in his/her field. • This came into effect with the students admitted in the 2015/2016 academic year

4. GETTING STARTED • The introduction of (IF) System has no doubt helped in improving the research output of staff and ranking of the University in the World Webometrics Ranking. • There is still some outcry for its total abrogation especially by those who feel that the introduction is coming late in their academic life. There are some missing links in the training of these staff that have resulted in their poor research outlook. • I will therefore make some suggestions that may help in overcoming the IF Jinx, especially for our junior academics and postgraduate students.

Breaking the IF Jinx • Get an article in an IF journal with result that looks similar to yours. • Follow the presentation and discussion without plagiarizing. • If you can practise with several of such articles, you will likely make it. • Never send out an article for publication without your supervisor’s input. • The introduction of Research Methodology and use of ICT in Research (which is also a component of this workshop) is aimed at exposing postgraduate students to modern research techniques for better research output.

Use of Research Gate/Google Scholar • Research Gate (RG) is an important tool for connecting science and scientists all over the world. • You can get some connections that may help you advance your research work if you get connected. • It also gives you your level of research output which you can use to compare yourself with your peers within and outside your institution. • The Google Scholar helps you to find scholarly sources that exist in any topic of interest. • You will be hearing more on this during the Workshop on the use of library.

Writing is an Art, Get Trained • It is one thing to carry out a research and obtain a good result but a different thing in putting it down in a coherent and acceptable form. • Your ability to communicate the importance of your results in an effective and engaging manner is very essential. • The best way to get training is through association with a trained mentor. Unfortunately, only very few senior academics have the proper training to train others. • Your mentor may not necessarily be your supervisor. • Training takes time and energy.

Research Groupand Seminars • There is no effective mentorship without research groups and research seminars. Research groups help in creating niches for oneself and collaborators. • A strong research group is more likely to attract national and international recognition than an individual. • Two postgraduate seminars have been introduced into the Ph.D curriculum to ensure proper training/mentorship.

5. PITFALLS TO AVOID • Today, several Fake/Predatory Publishers and Hijacked Journalsexist. Some of their features include: i. create counterfeit website that resembles the original journal. ii. publish academic papers without peer review and editorial work. iii. condition of payment of hundreds of dollars as page charges - the ability to pay is the major criterion for publication. iv. once payment is made, publication is within weeks of submission. Some of these journals are difficult to decipher by unsuspecting researcher as they usually bear a semblance to the original journal.

Publishing in Fake/Predatory and Hijacked Journals has grave consequences ranging from non recognition of the articles for promotion to outright fraud; it is our responsibility to know Fake/ Predatory and Hijacked Journals. • Consult the Beal's list of Predatory Journals and Publishers before submitting your articles. • Journals which have adversely affected our staff include Wulfenia Journal, Jokull Journal, Pensee Journal, Sylwan Journal, Transylvanian Review, International Journal for Scientific Research and Development, International Journal of Engineering, Scientific and Technology, etc. • In every field, there are journals that are not well-respected. They bring you out in bad light.

6. THE BENEFITS OF PUBLISHING IN HIGH IMPACT JOURNALS • Requirement for PhD graduation in UNN in which the student is expected to be the lead author as well as the corresponding author. • Requirement for assessment/promotion in which the appraisee is expected to have a certain number of IF publications as lead/corresponding author. • A necessary condition for Postgraduate/Research Leadership/Productivity Award. • Advancement of knowledge (recognized as an authority in the field).

Promotion; grants application, research funding. • Makes the reseacher visible to a wider academic audience. • Influences the External Examiners as they usually hold such works in high esteem. • Appointment of Postgraduate Supervisors will eventually be based, inter alia, on publication in IF Journals. • Adds to the University Webometrics.

Caution • Impact factors are useful in encouraging staff and postgraduate students to publish in reputable journals (the journal reputation helps in exposure) but they should not be the only criteria when judging the quality of publications or scientific worth of individual papers. • There are a number of high-impact papers that get published in low-impact journals and vice versa.

7. EVALUATIONS • Which is better; publishing many papers in journals with no IF or a few in journals with IF? • Quality or quantity, which one would you prefer if you were to evaluate candidates for job applications and promotions in academia? • Which one would you prefer; use of academic experts competent in the field or people with limited education and no competence when interviewing candidates for job positions? • If you were a member of a Research Grant Committee, how would you determine if the worth of a researcher is consistent with the research proposal? • How does the fraction of time dedicated to research influence the likelihood of publishing in high-IF Journals?

8. CONCLUSION • The IF system as introduced by Thomson Reuters assesses the quality of journal but not the quality of individual articles or academics. • This has been seen as a major factor that has precipitated some controversies in the use of IF as an appraisal method. • The IF journal articles are generally a small percentage of the total number of publications submitted by academic staff for promotion; thus, it does not actually undermine the individual overall research output. • With the introduction of additional journal metrics (SJR and SNIP), the scope has been sufficiently widened to accommodate all disciplines.

CONCLUSION(ctd) • if the current university administration can avoid the open – and close- systemwhich has been the bane of IF implementation for a decade now, there will be stability in the appraisal and promotion of academic staff in our university. • Our postgraduate students will also be motivated to acquire the necessary research skills to start early to publish in IF journals.

THANK YOU ALL

PROF. A. A. UBACHUKWU DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.