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Journal impact factor and its importance for AFP
Mieke L van Driel1, Parker J Magin, Chris B Del Mar
1Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Queensland. mieke_vandriel@bond.edu.au
Background:
In 2008, Australian Family Physician (AFP) was accepted on the list of journals listed in Science Citation Index Expanded and, thus, will generate an impact factor over the next 2 years. Impact factor is important to authors from research and academic backgrounds and will make AFP an increasingly attractive journal in which to publish.
Aim:
To describe the impact factor, its method of calculation, and its flaws.
Discussion:
Impact factor is the number of a journal's cited research papers divided by the total number of citable papers it has published. It is distorted by several different factors: sub-discipline, region, basic versus applied research, and whether the journal editor deliberately tries to strategically increase their impact factor.
Conclusion:
Impact factor is an oversimplified single measure of 'impact', which may underestimate the contribution of the AFP to society. However, no accepted alternative metric currently exists.
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