The literature on bibliometric indices for assessing scholarly impact, in particular the "h" index (Hirsch, 2005) and its many variants, is extensive, but nevertheless Ruscio and colleagues (this issue) succeed in making a valuable contribution. They have made the effort of collecting publication and citation data for no less than 1,750…

Ruscio and colleagues (Ruscio, Seaman, D'Oriano, Stremlo, & Mahalchik, this issue) have done a great service by systematically comparing indices of scholarly impact. Three aspects of their work are particularly valuable: (1) Their assessment of the proliferating collection of metrics, whose development has become something of a cottage industry,…

In their article Ruscio et al. (Ruscio, Seaman, D'Oriano, Stremlo, & Mahalchik, this issue) present a comparative study of some of the different variants of the "h" index. The study evaluates a total of 22 metrics, including the "h" index and "h"-type indices, as well as other conventional measures. The novelty of their work is to a large extent…

Describing, explaining, and discussing various modern indices of scholarly impact as accomplished by Ruscio, Seaman, D'Oriano, Stremlo, and Mahalchik (this issue) is highly commendable, as such measures get increasingly important in hiring and promotion decisions. The author agrees with almost all points made in the target article, except the…

This essay is a contribution to the literature of critique of higher education policy and management. It offers a general discussion of problems arising from the proliferation of mechanisms of audit and quality assurance within the context of concerns about dependence on quantitative measures of values. It argues that uncritical dependence on…

Responds to Fong and Amatea's (1992) study of work stress exhibited by 141 academically employed women. Notes that, although it was found that single women had significantly higher levels of stress than did married-parent women, there are problems with definitions, sampling, assessment, and statistics that pose threats to both internal and…

This commentary on the mismeasurement of language and reading comprehension abilities argues that quantitative measures of complex behaviors and subsequent ranking of individual performance often do not accurately reflect the abstract constructs they purport to measure, and inappropriate quantification and ranking create and perpetuate potentially…

The future of program evaluation is bright if evaluators do not ignore their roots in quantitative research. The current interest in qualitative approaches and the call for a "fourth generation" in evaluation should not override training in quantitative research. Qualitative research should complement, rather than replace, traditional…