Towards New Metrics for Bioresource Use

The BRIF is an ongoing initiative that encompasses reflections and actions from various stakeholders (researchers, funders, industrials, editors) towards i/ standardised identification schemes and reporting for better visibility and tracing of bioresources on the web; ii/ incentive policies from hosting institutions; iii/ creation of tools allowing follow up of their use. Tracing the use of bioresource is the first step in this process and for this purpose we have published the CoBRA (Citation of BioResources in journal Articles) guideline, launched the Open Journal of Bioresources and started developing new metrics. The CoBRA guideline aims to standardise the citation of bioresources in scientific articles in order to trace their use on the web. The Open Journal of Bioresources (OJB) was created in close collaboration with the open access publisher Ubiquity Press allowing both the resources and the OJB papers to be cited, and also providing authors with tools to get metrics on reuse and impact. New better adapted metrics are being worked out in a dedicated BRIF working subgroup. A first list of relevant parameters to take into account in the impact measure of bioresources has been provided. The tools proposed here foster easier access to samples and associated data as well as their optimised use, sharing and recognition for data producers. Input from the scientific editorial community would be highly appreciated at this stage.