5. The journal impact factor 2012 example
papers published
in 2010
papers published
in 2011
+
6. The journal impact factor 2012 example
citations accrued
during 2012
papers published
in 2010
papers published
in 2011
+
÷
7. The journal impact factor 2012 example
100 citations
accrued
during 2012
30 papers published
in 2010
20 papers published
in 2011
+
÷
JIF = 100 citations / 50 papers = 2.0
20. Don’t judge an article by its cover
top 10% of articles generate
40% of all citations …
21. Don’t judge an article by its cover
top 10% of articles generate
40% of all citations …
… 82% of articles are `below average’
22. Don’t judge an article by its cover
top 10% of articles generate
40% of all citations …
… 82% of articles are `below average’
Bill Gates gets on the train …
23. Don’t judge an article by its cover
2.051
49.926
54.333
2.076 2.244
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Acta Crystallographica Section A
Journal impact factor
24. Summary
• DO use IFs to target influential journals for reading or
potential publication
• DON’T compare IFs across disciplines
• DON’T take the rankings too literally
• DON’T confuse journal and article level metrics
• DO apply common sense