Congratulations, Dr. Eleonora Dagienė!
On 30 October 2025, Eleonora Dagienė successfully defended her PhD thesis at Leiden University, titled ‘Quantitative Research Assessment and its Unintended Consequences’.
Eleonora was supervised by Ludo Waltman (Leiden University), Vincent Larivière (Université de Montréal), and Guus Dix (University of Twente). In her dissertation, she analysed the historical evolution, policy implications, and behavioural impact of high-stakes quantitative research assessment practices in Lithuania—a small nation transitioning into the global research landscape—to inform more responsible and effective research evaluation frameworks.
Eleonora explains: ‘This PhD research highlights how a metric-heavy push for internationalisation in Lithuania, coupled with direct financial incentives, led to significant unintended consequences, demonstrating that the pursuit of a “too wise” quantitative system can become self-destructive. My contribution is the argument for a future research assessment based on “multigrained metrics”—leveraging scientometrics, a variety of open data, and advanced AI to create rich and multidimensional dashboards. Crucially, these advanced metrics move the conversation from simply counting towards genuinely understanding output value, and are intended only to inform, not replace, nuanced and transparent expert judgement.’
In his laudation after the PhD defence, her promotor Ludo Waltman praised Eleonora’s commitment to her PhD research: ‘You worked very hard and invested a lot in developing your skills. You didn’t want to do a purely quantitative PhD project, or a purely qualitative one. You wanted to do both, and you made a big effort to develop the skills needed for this.’ According to Ludo, this paid off: Eleonora became a self-confident and autonomous researcher and is now independently doing her own high-quality work. Adding to that, she is now advising the vice-rector for research of Mykolas Romeris University on issues related to research assessment and open science—an impressive demonstration of the impact of her PhD research.
Eleonora has worked on her PhD as an external candidate at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. In the past, she has led a university press for 12 years and served on the Crossref Board. Since 2021, she has been a researcher and lecturer at Mykolas Romeris University, actively advocating for open science and more responsible, context-sensitive assessment practices. Her multi-faceted background offers a unique, practical perspective on research assessment reform.
At CWTS, we are very proud of Eleonora’s achievement and look forward to following her work and achievements to come. We wish her all the best for her future career!