Evaluation of University Professors' Research Performance

The goal of this study was to compare systematically the multiple measures of research output, both objectively and subjectively, in order to identify those which are effective for evaluation of research professors. The study took place at the University of Missouri where a sample of 86 “hard” science professors pursuing funded research in 23 departments were evaluated.

The major conclusion of this research is that effectiveness can be measured by a simple count of the number of publications in respectable journals. But because the researchers and their department chairmen do not believe simple counts to be effective, this should be supplemented by weighting the publications with a journal quality index.