Measuring scholarly impact


The impact of scholarly activity can be estimated by employing a variety of indexes and metrics, including citation counts, journal impact factors, and H-index values. A journal's "impact factor" is computed through an analysis of citation patterns to demonstrate the scope of dissemination of research information.

The emergence of new measures, known collectively as altmetrics, allows individual researchers to quantify their research contributions thereby validating their scholarly reputation. One of the more widely used research specific metrics is the H-index. An H-index can be calculated using the databases Web of Science or Google Scholar. Because the calculations are based on different data sets, the H-index derived by Web of Science and Google Scholar may have some divergence in values.

How researchers benefit through journal measures

  • Aids in identifying journals in which to publish.
  • Aids in identifying journals relevant to your research.
  • Aids in confirming the reputation of journals in which you have published.

Is Journal Impact Factor an Indicator of Quality? In this article, the authors assessed the validity of the impact factor as a measure of quality for general medical journals by testing its association with journal quality as rated by clinical practitioners and researchers.

Identifying Journal Impact Factors UNR Journal Citation Reports

Scimago Journal Rankings A portal that includes the journals and country scientific indicators developed from the information contained in the Scopus Database

Altmetrics: measures to quantify individual research activity

The State of H Index Research From EMBO Reports provides an excellent overview and description of H-Index and how it applies to researcher productivity.

Google Scholar Citations Profile This Google feature gives researchers an easy way to keep track of their papers and associated citation patterns. It will automatically generate and H-Index.

Calculating your H-Index A thorough guide from the University of Waterloo that gives an overview of the history and application of H-Index with links to many resources that can aid in determining your score.