Is a question on the current usage of academic indicators (h-index, impact factor, etc) too loose a question for Academia.SE?

Question

I would be interested to know if anyone has objective facts and reports on how academic workplaces are currently using these academic indicators. For instance in the upcoming REF2014, academics are urged to use the papers in journals with the highest impact factors

I would not like to start a discussion on how "not representative", or how flawed, these numbers are, or generic rants.

Would that be an ok question for Academia.SE?

Answer 1

That's definitely on-topic here, as this directly relates to academia, and you should state directly in the question that you don't want it to degrade to an off-topic discussion about the usefulness of the measures. I think the question can stand on it's own without having to go down that road.