RN Score

Methodology

Research Nexus Score measures how well metadata contributes to Crossref's Research Nexus vision - connecting research outputs, people, organizations, and funders into a comprehensive scholarly graph.

Scoring Overview

The total score is calculated out of 100 points, divided across five dimensions. Each dimension targets a specific aspect of the Research Nexus vision.

Dimensions

Provenance

25 points max

Measures how well the metadata establishes connections to prior work and supports research integrity. Strong provenance helps build the citation graph and enables discovery.

Metrics:

  • References15 pts
  • Update Policies5 pts
  • Similarity Check5 pts

People

20 points max

Evaluates author identification through ORCID iDs. Persistent researcher identifiers enable accurate attribution, automatic publication claims, and career tracking.

Metrics:

  • ORCID Coverage20 pts

Organizations

15 points max

Assesses institutional affiliations and ROR IDs. Clear organizational links support funder compliance, institutional reporting, and collaboration analysis.

Metrics:

  • Affiliations (Text)5 pts
  • ROR IDs10 pts

Funding

20 points max

Tracks grant information using the Funder Registry. Funding metadata enables ROI analysis for funders and supports compliance monitoring.

Metrics:

  • Funder Registry10 pts
  • Award Numbers10 pts

Access

20 points max

Measures content discoverability and availability. License information, full-text links, and abstracts improve access and enable text mining.

Metrics:

  • Licenses7 pts
  • Full-text Links7 pts
  • Abstracts6 pts

Grading Scale

GradeScore RangeDescription
A80-100Excellent metadata coverage with comprehensive coverage
B65-79Good coverage with room for improvement in some areas
C50-64Adequate coverage but with significant gaps
D35-49Needs substantial work across multiple dimensions
F0-34Poor metadata coverage requiring immediate attention

Data Source

Research Nexus Score uses pre-computed coverage statistics from the Crossref /members API endpoint. These statistics are calculated daily by Crossref and represent the percentage of works that contain each metadata element.

The "current" metrics reflect works published in the last 2 calendar years, while "backfile" covers older works. The trend indicator compares these two periods to show improvement or decline.

Barcelona Declaration Alignment

The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information (2024) calls for making research information openly available. Research Nexus Score supports this vision by:

  • Making metadata coverage visible and comparable
  • Encouraging adoption of persistent identifiers (ORCID, ROR)
  • Promoting transparency in funding acknowledgements
  • Supporting FAIR principles for metadata

Open Source

Research Nexus Score is open source. View the code, report issues, or contribute on GitHub.