BMC Bioinformatics · 2004 · 12 citations · 0 references
Public AffairsBiomedical SciencesDecision AnalysisImpact MeasurementRegulatory Impact AssessmentBibliometric AnalysisCitation NetworksImpact EvaluationQuantitative Impact AssessmentResearch Impact AssessmentAcademic Impact AssessmentImpact FactorJournal AnalysisPublication Impact AnalysisScientific Impact Measurement
Impact factors – love them or loathe them, as a publisher it is difficult to ignore them. The number one question that BioMed Central gets asked by potential authors is What is the impact factor of the journal XXXXXX?. The scientific community has come to regard impact factors, calculated by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), as providing a quantitative and largely objective guide to which journals publish the best research. Although many problems can result from naive reliance on journal impact factors as a quality metric (especially when attempting to compare different fields) [1], the perception of many scientists is that, to get recognition and career advancement, they must publish in a journal with a good impact factor.