Journal Evaluation: Technical and Practical Issues

Abstract

THISESSAY PROVIDES A N OVERVIEW ofjournal evaluation indicators.It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of different indicators, together with their range of applicability.The definition of a "quality journal," different notions of impact factors, the meaning of ranking journals, and possible biases in citation databases are also discussed.Attention is given to using the journal impact in evaluation studies.The quality of ajournal is a multifaceted notion.Journals can be evaluated for different purposes, and hence the results of such evaluation exercises can be quite different depending on the indicator(s) used.The impact factor, in one of its versions, is probably the most used indicator when it comes to gauging the visibility of a journal on the research front.Generalized impact factors, over periods longer than the traditional two years, are better indicators for the long-term value of a journal.As with all evaluation studies, care must be exercised when consideringjournal impact factors as a quality indicator.It seems best to use a whole battery of indicators (including several impact factors) and to change this group of indicators depending on the purpose of the evaluation study.Nowadays it goes without saying that special attention is paid to e-journals and specific indicators for this type ofjournal.