Coping with the Inequity and Inefficiency of the H-Index: A Cross-Disciplinary Analytical Model

This paper develops an empirically validated theoretical model of a researcher’s publication goal to assess which standardisations and policies are more likely to achieve equity and efficiency in different disciplines. The main theoretical insight is that there is a trade-off between equity and efficiency, as well as between networking activity and knowledge-diffusion activity. The main empirical insight is that, in order to achieve equity and efficiency, the original version of the H index should be replaced by a version that is standardised per author and per year and calculated by excluding reciprocal citations and publications other than peer-reviewed articles.