What Research Skills Do Scholars Excel at? - Based on Individual Contribution and External Recognition.

Diverse research skills are used by scholars in their studies, such as methods design, data investigation, and writing, which significantly influence their research quality and subsequent scientific reputation. Existing scholar evaluation programs focus on providing a composite indicator for ranking scholars and lack specific analysis of scholars’ research skill performance. This study proposes a practical framework that characterizes research skill performance from two perspectives: individual contribution and external recognition. Individual contribution is assessed through the author’s contribution statement, while external recognition is evaluated through citations and altmetrics. Based on these two perspectives, the framework measures scholars’ skill performance in three dimensions: proficiency, academic reputation, and social impact. These dimensions provide a detailed and specific evaluation of individual scholar performance and allow for the advancement of successful research collaborations. The application of this framework to a specific scholar, Smith GD, who has published the most articles in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine , demonstrates its effectiveness in portraying scholars’ academic performance. The results show that Smith GD shows strong research skills in methodology, results analysis and validation, and manuscript writing, but could benefit from collaborating with colleagues who excel in practical operations and external support.