Assessment of International Psychogeriatrics: the Journal of the International Psychogeriatric Association

In 1996, new editorial management took over International Psychogeriatrics (IP), only a year after the frequency of its publication increased from semiannual to quarterly. At the request of the editorial board, an assessment of the journal was conducted by comparing it to other journals in the field of geriatrics and, specifically, geriatric psychiatry. The evaluation included both a modified citation analysis and a review of journal content. The study was undertaken in order to identify the position the journal has within its discipline. Further, it was to identify the journal's strengths and weaknesses with the overall goal of recommending changes to IP's current content and format. IP ranked seventh of 15 journals in terms of impact factor. It is primarily oriented towards the publication of original research, and features fewer longer articles than others in the field. Adding a wider variety of content may increase the overall interest in the journal. However, these changes must be weighed against the goals of the journal and its reputation as a source of original research in the field of geriatrics.