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Impact factor: a valid measure of journal quality?
Somnath Saha1, Sanjay Saint, Dimitri A Christakis
1Division of Medical Informatics & Outcomes Research, Portland VA Medical Center and Oregon Health & Science University, Portland VA Medical Center (P3MED) 3710 Southwest US. Veterans Hospital Road Portland, Oregon 97207, USA. sahas@ohsu.edu
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA
|February 8, 2003
Summary
Journal impact factor, a citation-based metric, appears to be a valid indicator of quality for general medical journals, according to physician ratings. This study found a strong correlation between impact factor and perceived journal quality.
Area of Science:
- Bibliometrics
- Scientific publishing
- Medical informatics
Background:
- The journal impact factor (JIF) is widely used as a proxy for journal quality.
- Empirical evidence supporting the JIF's validity as a quality indicator is limited.
- Assessing the JIF's correlation with expert opinion is crucial for understanding its utility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the validity of the journal impact factor as a measure of journal quality.
- To test the association between JIF and quality ratings provided by medical practitioners and researchers.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted among 113 US internal medicine practitioners and 151 clinical researchers.
- Respondents rated the quality of nine general medical journals.
- The correlation between journal quality ratings and their respective impact factors was analyzed.
Main Results:
- A strong correlation (r² = 0.82, P = 0.001) was observed between journal impact factor and physician-perceived quality.
- The correlation was higher among researchers (r² = 0.83, P = 0.001) compared to practitioners (r² = 0.62, P = 0.01).
Conclusions:
- The journal impact factor may serve as a reasonable indicator of quality for general medical journals.
- Physician and researcher perceptions of journal quality align significantly with impact factor.
- The findings support the use of JIF, particularly within research communities.