2018/01/26 by Vincent Larivière, Vincent Lariviere, Cassidy R. Sugimoto +2 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Research Data Management Practices #cs.DL #physics.soc-ph #scientometrics and bibliometrics research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02511-3_1
33 pages, Forthcoming in Glanzel, W., Moed, H.F., Schmoch U., Thelwall, M. (2018). Springer Handbook of Science and Technology Indicators. Cham (Switzerland): Springer International Publishing
arxiv created 2018/03/05 · arxiv updated 2018/03/06 · crossref issued 2019/01/01 · crossref published 2019/01/01 · crossref published-print 2019/01/01 · openalex publication_date 2019/01/01 · crossref created 2019/10/30 · crossref deposited 2024/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is, by far, the most discussed bibliometric indicator. Since its introduction over 40 years ago, it has had enormous effects on the scientific ecosystem: transforming the publishing industry, shaping hiring practices and the allocation of resources, and, as a result, reorienting the research activities and dissemination practices of scholars. Given both the ubiquity and impact of the indicator, the JIF has been widely dissected and debated by scholars of every disciplinary orientation. Drawing on the existing literature as well as on original research, this chapter provides a brief history of the indicator and highlights well-known limitations-such as the asymmetry between the numerator and the denominator, differences across disciplines, the insufficient citation window, and the skewness of the underlying citation distributions. The inflation of the JIF and the weakening predictive power is discussed, as well as the adverse effects on the behaviors of individual actors and the research enterprise. Alternative journal-based indicators are described and the chapter concludes with a call for responsible application and a commentary on future developments in journal indicators.