DORA: Visualizing Research Impact

The ability to create effective visualizations of your research impact is a valuable skill when competing for grants, awards, and attention in a crowded research landscape. This hands-on workshop introduces participants to a range of tools and techniques for creating clear, compelling graphics that communicate research impact from multiple perspectives, including citation metrics, collaboration networks, research outputs, and media attention. Participants will explore both ready-made visualizations and customizable approaches for presenting impact data to diverse audiences.

This workshop is part of the DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment) Workshop Series, which explores practical approaches for showcasing and evaluating research beyond traditional metrics. Together, these sessions focus on strengthening researcher visibility, communicating research impact, and recognizing the value of diverse scholarly contributions.

This session is ideal for researchers, administrators, and graduate students interested in research metrics, scholarly communication, and mapping academic influence. No previous experience with data visualization is necessary.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Generate ready-made impact visualizations using a variety of bibliometric and research impact tools available at McMaster.
2. Use raw bibliometric data and customizable templates to create effective research impact visualizations.
3. Select appropriate visualization types for different kinds of impact data and audiences.
4. Incorporate research impact visualizations into grant applications, award nominations, annual reports, and other research communication activities.

Details: Any preparatory work for the session can be found on its information page. This virtual workshop will be recorded and shared on the same page, and discoverable via the Sherman Centre’s Online Learning Catalogue.

Instructors: Jack Young and Subhanya Sivajothy