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The journal "impact factor": a misnamed, misleading, misused measure
F Hecht1, B K Hecht, A A Sandberg
1Hecht Associates, Jacksonville, Florida 32210-4362, USA.
Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics
|July 17, 1998
Summary
The journal "impact factor" is a misleading metric. Its calculation is accurate, but it should be renamed a "citation rate index" to prevent misuse in evaluating researchers and institutions.
Area of Science:
- Bibliometrics
- Scholarly Communication
- Research Evaluation
Background:
- The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) developed the journal impact factor.
- The impact factor measures the average citation frequency of articles in a journal over two years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the journal impact factor.
- To address the misuse of the impact factor in research assessment.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the definition and calculation of the journal impact factor.
- Examination of the application and implications of the impact factor in scientific evaluation.
Main Results:
- The calculation of the impact factor is mathematically correct.
- The term 'impact factor' is misleading and has led to its misuse.
- The impact factor is inappropriately used to assess article, researcher, and institutional importance.
Conclusions:
- The term 'impact factor' should be abolished.
- The metric should be renamed a 'citation rate index'.
- This index should not be used for evaluating researchers, funding, or tenure decisions.
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