The activity of measuring and describing the quality and impact of academic research is increasingly important in Australia and around the world. In Australia, factors behind this include:
ERA 2018 included an Engagement & Impact Assessment report that "examined how universities are translating their research into economic, social and other benefits and encourage greater collaboration between universities, industries and other end-users of research." In this context the ARC used the following definitions:
Source: https://utas.libguides.com/research_impact
This guide provides information on a range of metrics and the tools available to calculate those traditional quantitative metrics.
Information on Alternative metrics, or Altmetrics, is available in the online guide: Altmetrics
Information on how to capture evidence and describe research outputs is available in the online guide: Research Evidence for Grants and Promotion
It is important to communicate your research, this can be achieved by:
For more information on communicating and sharing your research consult the online guide: Strategic publishing
With great power comes the responsible use of metrics (29:25 min) by University of Cambridge (YouTube)