As research performance has become a key factor in academic decision-making, whether in appointments or funding, there is an increasing awareness that existing measures are inadequate and need to be enhanced. Although the conventional indicators of research impact, including the total publications, the number of citations, and the h-index, etc., offer a rough picture of the research impact, they do not reflect the ongoing contribution of researchers over time. To overcome this shortcoming, we suggest the introduction of the \({K}_{z}\) index, which considers the impact of publications and age. The \({K}_{z}\) -index has a three-dimensional geometric interpretation that extends the classical h-index by combining citation intensity and publication age into a single volumetric measure of sustained research impact. We have computed \({K}_{z}\) scores of 376 research profiles from Monash University in this study. \({K}_{z}\) shows that the researchers sharing the same h-index may have varying \({K}_{z}\) scores and vice versa. Moreover, we have seen cases where researchers who had fewer citation scores received higher \({K}_{z}\) scores and vice versa. Interestingly, the \({K}_{z}\) measure is log-normally distributed. In order to establish whether the distribution of \({K}_{z}\) is independent of the subject discipline, we plotted the distribution of three disciplines. We found that the distribution of \({K}_{z}\) is actually independent of the discipline. It emphasizes its possible usefulness as a means of ranking researchers and making informed decisions. Through the continuous research impact measurement, we facilitate equitable assessments, improve selection procedures, and offer targeted career development assistance and funding opportunities.
