While presenting a copy of his recent four-volume publication Island Studies to the University Library, University pro-rector Godfrey Baldacchino called on University academics to upload their research output on the Open Access Repository at the University of Malta Library (OAR@UoM).
Prof. Baldacchio said the University’s academic staff could support their students’ academic development not only by suggesting and critiquing publications, but also by proposing their own academic output. The latter is testimony of academic rigour and research focus, pushing the boundaries of knowledge; it is also a marker of academic excellence, assessed via the quantity and quality of academic work, he said.
Publications are evidence of scholarship and the basis of academic life, he added, and university students had to ‘read’ for their degree, implying that their life is a path strewn with a variety of ‘publications’, now both conventional/ hard copy or digital/soft copy.
Quick searches using internet search engines demonstrate the calibre of one’s publications via their citation record. The number of citations is indicative of both quantity and quality of publications.
Scopus, Mendeley and Google Scholar each allow open access to any academic’s profile, indicating the quantity and quality of his or her scholarship – the latter via the number of (non-self) citations. For example, Google Scholar ranks researchers from particular institutions, including the University of Malta, on the basis of the number of their citations.
During the book presentation, Prof. Baldacchino gave a live demonstration of what Google Scholar had to say about University researchers. OAR@UoM is the holding site for the academic output of the University of Malta community, including student theses.
A paper, journal article or book is likely to be much better known if it is included in a depository like OAR@UoM, from where it can be more easily sourced.