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A more comprehensive index in the evaluation of scientific research : the single researcher impact factor proposal

Castelnuovo, Gianluca ; Limonta, Daniel ; Sarmiento, Luis LU and Molinari, Enrico (2010) In Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH 6. p.109-114
Abstract

Good alternatives to the Impact Factor (IF) algorithm are needed. The Thomson IF represents a limited measure of the importance of an individual article because 80% of a journal's IF is determined by only the 20% of the papers published. In the past few years, several new indexes has been created to provide alternatives to the IF algorithm. These include the removal of self citations from the calculation of the IF using the Adjusted IF, Index Copernicus initiative and other modifications such as the Cited Half-Life IF, Median IF, Disciplinary IF, and Prestige Factor. There is also the Euro-Factor, born in Europe to avoid the strong US centrality, and the English language basis of the Thomson database. One possible strategy to avoid "IF... (More)

Good alternatives to the Impact Factor (IF) algorithm are needed. The Thomson IF represents a limited measure of the importance of an individual article because 80% of a journal's IF is determined by only the 20% of the papers published. In the past few years, several new indexes has been created to provide alternatives to the IF algorithm. These include the removal of self citations from the calculation of the IF using the Adjusted IF, Index Copernicus initiative and other modifications such as the Cited Half-Life IF, Median IF, Disciplinary IF, and Prestige Factor. There is also the Euro-Factor, born in Europe to avoid the strong US centrality, and the English language basis of the Thomson database. One possible strategy to avoid "IF supremacy" is to create a new index, the Single Researcher Impact Factor (SRIF), that would move the evaluation from the power of scientific journals to the quality of single researchers. This measure can take into account the number and quality of the traditional publications and other activities usually associated with being a researcher, such as reviewing manuscripts, writing books, and attending scientific meetings. Also, in funding policy, it might be more useful to consider the merits, contributions, and real impact of all the scientific activities of a single researcher instead of adding only the journals' IF numbers. The major aim of this paper is to propose and describe the SRIF index that could represent a novel option to evaluate scientific research and researchers.

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author
; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH
volume
6
pages
6 pages
publisher
Bentham Science Publishers
external identifiers
  • scopus:85047688179
  • pmid:21339895
ISSN
1745-0179
DOI
10.2174/1745017901006010109
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
6175f65e-74b4-4076-aea9-7dc19f29f782
alternative location
https://europepmc.org/abstract/pmc/pmc3040994
date added to LUP
2019-07-08 14:43:09
date last changed
2024-01-01 15:38:39
@article{6175f65e-74b4-4076-aea9-7dc19f29f782,
  abstract     = {{<p>Good alternatives to the Impact Factor (IF) algorithm are needed. The Thomson IF represents a limited measure of the importance of an individual article because 80% of a journal's IF is determined by only the 20% of the papers published. In the past few years, several new indexes has been created to provide alternatives to the IF algorithm. These include the removal of self citations from the calculation of the IF using the Adjusted IF, Index Copernicus initiative and other modifications such as the Cited Half-Life IF, Median IF, Disciplinary IF, and Prestige Factor. There is also the Euro-Factor, born in Europe to avoid the strong US centrality, and the English language basis of the Thomson database. One possible strategy to avoid "IF supremacy" is to create a new index, the Single Researcher Impact Factor (SRIF), that would move the evaluation from the power of scientific journals to the quality of single researchers. This measure can take into account the number and quality of the traditional publications and other activities usually associated with being a researcher, such as reviewing manuscripts, writing books, and attending scientific meetings. Also, in funding policy, it might be more useful to consider the merits, contributions, and real impact of all the scientific activities of a single researcher instead of adding only the journals' IF numbers. The major aim of this paper is to propose and describe the SRIF index that could represent a novel option to evaluate scientific research and researchers.</p>}},
  author       = {{Castelnuovo, Gianluca and Limonta, Daniel and Sarmiento, Luis and Molinari, Enrico}},
  issn         = {{1745-0179}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  pages        = {{109--114}},
  publisher    = {{Bentham Science Publishers}},
  series       = {{Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH}},
  title        = {{A more comprehensive index in the evaluation of scientific research : the single researcher impact factor proposal}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1745017901006010109}},
  doi          = {{10.2174/1745017901006010109}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}