The impact factor game
2006
The Impact Factor Game
Editorial
Author Information
Author(s): The PLoS Medicine Editors
Primary Institution: Public Library of Science
Hypothesis
We need a better measure than the impact factor for assessing the biomedical literature.
Conclusion
The current process of determining a journal's impact factor is unscientific and arbitrary.
Supporting Evidence
- The impact factor can be significantly affected by the publication of review articles.
- Impact factors are often used inappropriately to make decisions about authors' careers.
- Thomson Scientific has no obligation to be accountable to authors and readers regarding impact factors.
Takeaway
The impact factor of a journal doesn't really show how good the research is; we need better ways to measure how important a paper is.
Potential Biases
The process for determining citable articles is not transparent, leading to potential biases in how impact factors are calculated.
Limitations
The impact factor is influenced by the types of articles deemed 'citable' and does not reflect the quality of individual research articles.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website