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Understanding the Impact Factor

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Q: What is the difference between SJIF and IF?

Detailed question-I have submitted one article to the journal with impact factor (SJIF) 0f 3.7. Later I came to know that the SJIF impact factor will not be considered the actual impact…

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It is a fact that Thomson Reuters’ JCR Impact Factor is the most reliable and authentic one, and is the only measure that is considered…

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Q: Is the h index better than the impact factor?

Detailed question-The impact factor is the most popular measure of research influence. But my colleagues have recently been telling me to start calculating my h index. I find this quite…
  • Asked on October 16, 2013

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That’s a very interesting question. The journal impact factor and h index are different in their fundamental design: The former is used…

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Q: How is the Impact Factor calculated for a journal whose name changes?

Detailed question-According to JCR rules, when a journal changes its name, only the old journal title is assigned an IF during that year, and not the new journal title. In the second year…
  • Asked by Bee on September 9, 2014

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The impact factor (IF) of a journal is a simple average obtained by considering the number of citations that articles in the journal have…

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Q: How can I find out the impact factor of my target journal?

Detailed question-Can you tell me the impact factor for this journal: ISSN: 2157-7633?

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The ISSN:2157-7633 mentioned by you belongs to a journal called “Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapy.” This journal does not have…

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Q: The journal IF has changed between online and print publication: Which one should I consider?

Detailed question-Scenario 1: My paper was published online in 2013 when the journal IF was 1. When my paper was published in print in 2014, the journal IF became 0.5. Will my paper be…

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I assume you are referring to your paper being published online by a journal that has an advance online publication (AOP) option. In most…

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Q: How can I know the IF of a journal that has changed its title?

Detailed question-The journal named “Human Vaccines” (ISSN:1554-8600) changed its name in 2012 to “Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics” (ISSN: 2164-5515). In 2014, its IF was 3.643…

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A journal needs to be in circulation for at least 2 years before it can be considered eligible to have an impact factor. This means it…

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Q: What is the difference between SJIF and RJIF and which is a better indicator of journal quality?

Detailed question-I have submitted my article at a time in two journals showing one SJIF 3.7 and another RJIF 5.2. Is there any problem of submitting in two journals at a time? What is…

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It is unethical for authors to submit the same papers to more than one journal at a time. In publishing circles, this is known as…

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Q: Which year's impact factor should I use: the current year or that in which my paper was published?

Detailed question-A journal's impact factor changes every year. By that logic, the journal impact factor of my published paper also changes every year. When I report my research…
  • Asked on January 29, 2018

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The impact factor (IF) of an academic journal is a measure reflecting the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published…

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Q: If a journal’s name and IF change, does this affect its published papers?

Detailed question-I understand how to calculate IF as per JCR rule, but do organizations in China recognize papers published in a journal on the year of name change?

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In the first year of name change of a journal, the new title does not have an IF. The IF is assigned to the old title and not the new one…

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Q: What is the cumulative impact index of a journal?

Detailed question-For getting a PhD equivalent qualification one must have published 5 papers in journals with cumulative impact index of not less than 2. This is the criteria laid down…

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The cumulative impact index of a journal is a long-term measure of its impact factor. Thus, while the impact factor is generally…

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