Impact factors: scientific and career assessment by numbers

Abstract

The most used scientific evaluation parameters today are: 1) The impact factor (IF) of scientific journals in which the papers of researchers, and their collaborators, are published and 2) The so-called H-factor which is used to evaluate the work of individual scientists. We explore in detail these particular parameters. Also we briefly discuss alternative forms of assessment in the modern age.

Book Review: The Art of Medicine—Over 2,000 Years of Images and Imagination

“…[2][3][4] As Garfield's original company, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), was absorbed by the media conglomerate Thomson Reuters, this proprietary impact factor began to be touted as the ultimate ranking tool, not just for journals but also for individuals and institutions. This has led to considerable controversy [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and some ethical concerns, [17][18][19][20][21][22] along with fueling a search for better numeric measures of academic quality [23][24][25][26][27] (of course, the ultimate method to evaluate quality would be the careful examination of research publications; unfortunately, reading seems too cumbersome for administrators seeking only numbers for ranking).…”

Book Review: The Publish or Perish Book: Your Guide to Effective and Responsible Citation Analysis

“…This has led to considerable controversy [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and some ethical concerns, 17-22 along with fueling a search for better numeric measures of academic quality [23][24][25][26][27] (of course, the ultimate method to evaluate quality would be the careful examination of research publications; unfortunately, reading seems too cumbersome for administrators seeking only numbers for ranking).…”

“…[2][3][4] As Garfield's original company, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), was absorbed by the media conglomerate Thomson Reuters, this proprietary impact factor began to be touted as the ultimate ranking tool, not just for journals but also for individuals and institutions. This has led to considerable controversy [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and some ethical concerns, [17][18][19][20][21][22] along with fueling a search for better numeric measures of academic quality [23][24][25][26][27] (of course, the ultimate method to evaluate quality would be the careful examination of research publications; unfortunately, reading seems too cumbersome for administrators seeking only numbers for ranking).…”

Journal Combat

“…5,10,11,38–46 At the same time, gullible administrators and government agencies were persuaded that the impact factor of the journal in which materials were published could also be used as a measure of the worth of individual investigators (and institutions) and their research efforts: A simple number could be substituted for the time and effort required to read and assess research quality. 9 –27,38–56 Thus, the granting of research funds, the awarding of promotion and tenure, and the determination of salaries have often been based on these impact factor values. In some instances, bonus payments nearly equal to a full year salary can be obtained simply through authoring an article in a journal with a high impact factor, regardless of the significance or quality of the reported research.…”

“…2,5 Unfortunately, that goal, which began in 1665 with the first scientific journal (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London), has been corrupted over the past half century. Many factors have contributed to this perversion, but major among them are (1) the exponential growth of journals and the journal industry, [6][7][8] (2) the adoption of journal metrics as the measure of quality rather than the written content of the article, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] and (3) the intrusion of the Internet into all aspects of academic life. [28][29][30] Until the second half of the 20th century, most of the important journals in what is now categorized as ''science, technology, and medicine'' (STM is the abbreviation used by the publishing industry) were the organs of major societies or associations and sometimes were even published by those organizations.…”