PONE-D-22-02394Becoming metrics literate: An analysis of brief videos that teach about the h-indexPLOS ONE

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: N/A

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: I highly appreciate this new approach to study information dispersion/education, in particular in the field of bibliometrics.

Some remarks though

p. 3 the authors’ definition of the h-index does not seem right. They say that a researcher with an h-index of 15 has published at least 15 papers which have received at least 15 citations each. An author having published at least 17 papers which have received at least 17 citations also meets this requirement. I think the authors should add that h is the largest number meeting their requirement.

p.4 among the problems with the h-index they should mention (already here) the dependence on the database, especially the difference between a Google h-index and a WoS h-index.

p.11 Although difficult I think that the authors should mention factual errors in these videos, or make a remark when they include statements which are clearly without any nuance or unethical, such as “My professor says...“. Also the statement that publishing in languages other than English is bad for one’s h-index, is besides the point. Publishing in other languages leads to less citations, and in this way influences the h-index.

p.15 A similar remark is valid when talking about gender bias. The h-index is not gender biased as such; citations are.

Some minor remarks

p.2 abstract. Line (-2). I would say a minority (32%) was of professional quality.

p. 6 line 3. I think that the word ‘thus’ should be removed.

p. 8 video 2. Wrong date

A final remark. The authors introduce the notion of “becoming metrics literate” (fine), but although mentioned, they do not state the difference with the term “metric-wise”. In my understanding, becoming metric-wise means becoming metric literate AND being able to use it to one’s advantage. I also note that the term “metric-wise” was discussed in the article mentioned by the authors, but actually introduced in (2015) “Metric-wiseness. JASIST, 66(11), 2389-2389.

Reviewer #2: This interesting article studies how videos on YouTbe explain and discuss the h-index. After a period in which the emtrics community was mostly oriented inwards (e.g., towards developing more sophisticated indicators), it is a welcome change to see increasing attention to the use of metrics by researchers, practitioners, and administrators. The present paper fits into the latter paradigm.

Overall, I think this paper is very well done, with sufficient attention to various aspects that make a video more or less suitable to learn about the h-index and its limitations. Similar studies could be done on other indicators and platforms, and I expect that that will happen in the coming years. The paper is clearly structured and well-written. I have only some fairly minor suggestions for the authors.

The paper presents solid arguments in favor of studying videos in particular. However, I'd like to point out that there are more options beyond mere text on the one hand and video on the other. For instance, the infographic developed by CWTS (https://leidenmadtrics.nl/articles/halt-the-h-index) presents some dreawbacks of the h-index in a static yet visual way.

Some additional information on the process that led to the final 31 videos would be appropriate. It is not clear to me if these were the first 31 videos presented by YouTube/Google, or if they constitute a truly random sample out of all 274. Table 1 shows that they represent a mixture of older and more recent videos, as well as more and less popular ones (which suggests some kind of randomization) but some more details shoud be provided. Can you also describe your findings after reviewing the last 7 videos? Did those yield any new insights or were they all 'more of the same'?

I would change the definition of the h-index on p. 3 to read that it is THE LARGEST NUMBER h such that there are h number of papers with at least h citations. (Strictly speaking, someone with h-index 15 also has 10 papers with 10 or more citations but in fact they have even more).

It would be helpful if the authors could provide some recommendations for future videos on the h-index or other bibliometric indicators: which formats work well? What are issues to be aware of?

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Becoming metrics literate: An analysis of brief videos that teach about the h-index

PONE-D-22-02394R1

Dear Dr. Maggio,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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Reviewer #1: (No Response)

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Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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Reviewer #1: (No Response)

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Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

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