Importance and use of the Google Scholar h-index and ResearchGate RIS indicators in the classification of IFAL Departments

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Abstract

Currently, the use of scientific social networks among professors and researchers has become a fundamental tool for visibility, dissemination, and scientific collaboration. This article presents two of the most widely used international platforms, Google Scholar and ResearchGate, and highlights the importance of creating and systematically updating academic staff profiles on these platforms.
The ranking system is valued as an innovative self-regulation mechanism that can contribute positively to management autonomy and as a process that fosters self-awareness-based decision-making for endogenous quality improvement. As part of the methodology developed to rank the two teaching departments of the Institute of Pharmacy and Food Sciences (IFAL) at the University of Havana—the Food Science Department (DDA) and the Pharmacy Department (DDF)—the article demonstrates the use of specific indicators, such as the Google Scholar h-index and the Research Interest Score (RIS) from ResearchGate. The current results of these indicators are then analyzed within the faculty of both departments.