The u-index: an alternative metric to measure academic impact

This short paper introduces the u-index (“unique-index”), a simple but robust metric to evaluate the impact and relevance of academic research output, as a possible alternative to common metrics such as the h-index or the i10-index. The proposed index is designed to address known issues with standard metrics such as inflated ratings resulting from self-citations or obtained thanks to extended co-authorship numbers, where every citation is attributed the same impact despite limited individual contributions. The new index makes also possible to differentiate scholars who would otherwise fall into the same h-index group, hence providing further insights into the actual impact of a specific individual researcher.