Measuring Journal and Research Prestige

Presented by: Jaap van Harten, PhD, Executive Publisher Elsevier BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Location: Laval University, Québec City, Canada Date: September 22, 2014

2

Open(ing) Questions

• What is the best scientific journal you know? • Why is that one the best? • Why couldn’t another journal be just as good?

3

Objectives

• Why is there a need to discern quality among different journals?

• What metrics are used to compare journals? • Which journal is most appropriate “for me”

to submit my manuscript to?

Why is there a need to discern quality among different journals?

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Growth of peer-reviewed journals

“This is truly the decade of the journal, and one should seek to limit their number rather

than to increase them, since there can be too many periodicals.”

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Growth of peer-reviewed journals

“This is truly the decade of the journal, and one should seek to limit their number rather

than to increase them, since there can be too many periodicals.”

1789 Neues medizinisches Wochenblatt für Aerzte, Wundärzte, Apotheker und Freunde der Naturwissenschaft

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Growth of peer-reviewed journals

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25.000

<1900 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s >2000 Decade

Num

ber of Active Journals

Source:

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Journal Competition

• Journals for the best papers and the best authors • The concept of journal prestige originates from this competition

For example, in the category of “Analytical Chemistry”

Analytical Chemistry

Analytica Chimica Acta

Analytical Biochemistry

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry

Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry

Analyst

Electroanalysis

Analytical Sciences

Journal of Analytical Chemistry

Current Analytical Chemistry

Reviews in Analytical Chemistry

And >50 others!

How can you tell which of these are high quality journals?

What metrics are used to compare journals?

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Overview of Journal Metrics

• Impact Factor et al. • Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) • SCImago Journal Rank • H-index • Article usage

• Journal citation data and bibliometrics can be used to measure the impact or influence of articles, authors, and journals

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Impact Factor

• Citation index of Science, Social Science, Arts & Humanities journals

• Impact Factors of Science and Social Science journals

Impact Factor is the most well-known citation metric

Impact Factor and related parameters

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Impact Factor - Definition & Calculation

IF is published 6 months after the end of the year it relates to (i.e. The “IF 2011” is published mid 2012)

Definition The ratio between citations and recent citable items published in a journal

(i.e. the average number of citations received per published article)

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Impact Factor – The Anomaly

Citations to many non-source items (editorials, letters, book reviews, abstracts, etc.) inflate the IF

All types of communications (e.g. editorials, letters, reviews)

All source items (articles, notes, reviews)

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Influences on the IF: Article Types

Citations

Articles

Reviews

Years since publication

Notes

4 8 12 16 0 2 6 10 14 18 20

Impact Factor Window

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0,0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5

Mathematics & Computer Sciences

Social Sciences

Materials Science & Engineering

Biological Sciences

Environmental Sciences

Earth Sciences

Chemistry & Chemical Engineering

Physics

Pharmacology & Toxicology

Clinical Medicine

Neuroscience

Fundamental Life Sciences

Mean Impact Factor (1998)

Influences on the IF: Subject Area

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Pharmac[olog]y Journals Ranked by Impact Factor 2005

Impact Factor 2005

% of Journals with a higher IF 2005

Pharmacology

Pharmacy

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Typical Ranges of IFs

For example: In the category of “Analytical Chemistry”

Analytical Chemistry

Analytica Chimica Acta

Analytical Biochemistry

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry

Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry

Analyst

Electroanalysis

Analytical Sciences

Journal of Analytical Chemistry

Current Analytical Chemistry

Reviews in Analytical Chemistry

And >50 others!

5.646

3.198

2.948

2.894

2.591 2.444

2.339

1.589

1.500

0.444

0.429

0.133 – 5.646

Other journals: Science 30.028

Naval Architect 0.001 Power Engineering 0.007 Engineering & Mining Journal 0.008

Nature 26.681 Cell 29.194

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Impact Factor Use and Abuse

• Used for library collection development

• Open to manipulation by authors, reviewers, editors and publishers

• Used to compare journals of different types • Used to compare journals in different fields • Used to derive a ‘personal IF’ ?

• Used as a lone proxy for journal ‘quality’

Author versus Journal Impact Factors Author N.N.: ≈100 original research articles (Reviews excluded) ≈ 50% published in ISI category “Pharmacology & Pharmacy”

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Personal IFJournal IF

Impact Factor Year

Impact Factor

Avg. = 3.086

Avg. = 2.637

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Other IF-related metrics

• Cited Half-life – The cited half-life for the journal is the median

age of its articles cited in the current IF year • Immediacy Index

– The immediacy index is the average number of times an article is cited in the year that it is published

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Source-Normalized Impact per Paper

• Developed by Henk F. Moed (CWTS, Leiden) • “Raw impact per paper” divided by the “Relative

database citation potential” – The impact of a single citation is given higher value in

subject areas where citations are less likely, and vice versa.

• Data sourced from Scopus • Tool to compare journals in different fields

– Definition of “field” is not static (e.g. ISI category) but dynamic (i.e. journal-dependent)

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SCImago Journal Rank

• Produced by bibliometricians in Spain • Data sourced from Scopus • A ratio of citations in current year to articles

published in the previous 3 years • Citations are weighted by the SJR of the citing journal -- like Google weights links to web pages)

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SCImago Journal Rank

Note European decimal notation!

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Journal metrics on homepages

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h-Index

• Proposed by physicist Jorge Hirsch in 2005

• Rates individuals or journals based on career publications

• Incorporates both quantity (no. of publications) and quality (no. of citations)

Calculation of the h-index

If you list a scientist’s papers in descending order of the number of citations received to date, his/ her h-index is 8 when 8 papers

have been cited 8 times or more since publication

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h-Index

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h-index for journals

Note European decimal notation!

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Usage • Usage is a new concept for measuring journal

value and impact • Full-text article downloads • COUNTER is attempting to standardize usage

reporting and develop a “Usage Factor” metric • Libraries already use usage statistics to evaluate

their collections and spend • Authors (and administrators) are also interested

to see how much the works are used • “Industry” reads a lot, but publishes

and cites much less

Which journal is appropriate for me to submit my research to?

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Journal Selection

How would you pick an “Analytical Chemistry” journal?

Analytical Chemistry Analytica Chimica Acta

Analytical Biochemistry Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry Analyst

Electroanalysis

Analytical Sciences

Journal of Analytical Chemistry

Current Analytical Chemistry Reviews in Analytical Chemistry

And >50 others!

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Journal Selection Selection of a journal depends on many factors

in addition to journal metrics – The aims and scope of the journal – The type of manuscript you have written

• review, letter, research article – The specific subject area – The significance of your work – The prestige/quality of the journal – The reputation of the editors in the field – The editorial and production speed of the journal – The community and audience around the journal – The coverage and distribution

• regional, international

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Summary • Why is there a need to discern quality among

different journals? – Increasing number of journals and disciplines

• What metrics are used compare journals? – Impact Factor – Source-normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) – SCImago Journal Rank – H-index – Usage

• Which journal is appropriate for me to submit my research to? – Consider the significance and scope of your work. Ask your

supervisor which journal would be suitable for the area and quality of research you have conducted

– Consider the aims, scope, subject area, prestige, editors, editorial and production speed, community/audience, and coverage of a journal

Thank you! Questions welcome

j.harten@elsevier.com