Counting for better or worse – Björn Hammarfelt focuses on researchers' ambivalence about citations

Alf Prøysen's "The Goatling Who Could Count to Ten" becomes the gateway for Björn Hammarfelt's presentation of himself and his research, which moves in the borderland between library and information science and the sociology of science. 

"I use the children's book as a starting point to illustrate the ambivalence that surrounds evaluation and measurement, both in the scientific community at large and for the individual – a recurring theme in my research.  Historically, measurement has been regarded as directly dangerous. For example, in the 19th century Czech Republic, it was said that children under the age of six ceased to grow if their height was recorded. However, measurement was not only considered to be evil. In medieval Poland, there was an affliction, called ‘miara’ (Polish for measure), which could only be cured by measuring the disease.”

• Björn Hammarfelt will give his inaugural lecture 8 May 10:45 in C203, house Balder. 
  The lecture is held in Swedish. 

Early on, insights abounded that measurement affected what was measured; whether these effects were positive or negative was the subject of significant disagreement. This dualism – and especially its link to how science is evaluated – has characterised a large part of his academic work. He has wanted to know how an increasing focus on measurability – the number of publications or citations – affected the research focus, academic careers, and the ecology of scientific publishing. 

Many ambivalent researchers

Björn Hammarfelt and his research colleagues have not been able to agree on any unambiguous answer, but together they have achieved a greater critical awareness and their insights have been recorded in countless international declarations where one-sided evaluation has been criticised. And some tendencies can be discerned.

“In interviews, for example, it has been noticed that a general focus on measurability leads to increased stress on the part of researchers to publish quickly,” he said, returning once again to these conflicting feelings. "Many researchers are probably critical of measuring research quality using citations, but they are still quite happy when they are cited, because then someone has read their texts and paid attention to them. The alternative, not being evaluated at all, is also not good because it can be seen as a sign that their work is not valued by society.”  

Research with breadth and collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries

A mixture of intellectual interests, chance, and significant contributions from colleagues has shaped Björn Hammarfelt's academic trajectory.  

“I have always been curious about how valuations are made and norms are set. Numerical reviews and rankings are exciting because they bring evaluation logic to a head. The lively interdisciplinary discussion on how scientific quality is analysed and assessed made the field particularly attractive. There was a controversial and important question here, but few had yet studied it seriously.”  

His research has always revolved around scientific communication, but far from always limited to the subject of evaluation. On the contrary, there has been a great breadth and over the years he has co-authored with some 40 different researchers from disciplines and countries, and the topics have ranged from Soviet information management, patents and 'gamification' to temporality and publishing practices among economists and ophthalmologists. 

“Overall, I've found it fun to work on things that are a little outside my own field and often in collaboration with other researchers,” said Björn Hammarfelt.  

Driven by making a difference to society and helping others achieve their goals

His greatest driving forces as a researcher are an interest in exploring issues that are important to shed light on and that can benefit both students and society. But he is also driven by the dynamics in collegial collaboration. And now that he is taking the step towards a new role, it feels more important to highlight colleagues and help others achieve their goals rather than putting the emphasis on his own career goals. 

“If in my research I have been primarily a team player – and then hardly the brilliant striker, but more the versatile midfielder – then the role of professor means that the focus is even more on supporting others,” said Björn Hammarfelt.  

It is about building environments where younger researchers can have room to grow, supervising doctoral students and other students, and more broadly strengthening academia's influence in society.  

“It is a role that I am happy to take on, but of course I also want to curiously approach new areas and initiate fruitful collaborations on the challenges that contemporary society presents us with.”