The assessment of productivity in research in Physical Education: reflections on some limitations of bibliometric indicators

Abstract

The aim was examine the limitations of bibliometric evaluation based on citation, and discuss the influence of this form of assessment of knowledge production in Physical Education, especially in post-graduate programs. Thus, we made a description of the main limitations of the bibliometric indicators (impact factor and h-index) used in Brazil to assess the production in research. Journals and researchers may be changing their behavior to increase their impact/score in the evaluation system, with consequences like the gap between what is produced in the area of Physical Education and its academic and social relevance. We consider that the forms of assessment need to be (re)designed as well as the quality of scientific publications more productively considered. We believe it is crucial a greater involvement of the academic and scientific community in discussions about the consequences of using these citation-based indicators to the area of Physical Education.