Journal metrics: The impact factor and other

important indices
Jesús David Álvarez Trujillo
Universidad Industrial de Santader

Introduction Citations distribution in different journals Other important metrics

In this era of information, knowing where to gather and expose information has CiteScore: measures the average number of citations a journal receives in a
become a priority. Researchers are not exempt from this trend, as choosing the year for articles published in the three previous years, divided by the total
right journal for publishing a paper is a concern due to the wide range of alterna- number of articles indexed in Scopus during those three years (Elsevier,
tives available. The use of journal metrics could help researchers select a journal 2020).
by providing important data about the impact and relevance of the journal among SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): assesses the impact of a journal by analyzing
the scientific community. how often articles published in the journal were cited in other journals during
the previous three years. This is different from the Journal Impact Factor,
Impact factor which compares citations in the previous two years (Elsevier, 2020).
h-index: value of a journal indicates the number of papers (h) that the journal
One of the most well-known journal metrics is the impact factor. The impact factor has published and have been cited at least h times (Elsevier, 2020).
is a value that indicates the relationship between the average number of citations
and articles published in a given journal in the two years before (Waltman & Traag,
2021). Every year, Clarivate Analytics publishes the Journal Impact Factors as a Important journals related to sustainable wastewater
component of the Web of Science Journal Citation Reports®. Table 1 presents treatment and its impact
the five journals with the highest impact factor. The formula used to estimate this
metric is presented below: 1. Water Research - ISSN: 18792448 - SJR: Q1 - Impact factor: 13.4
Citationsy 2. Journal of Cleaner Production - ISSN: 18791786 - SJR: Q1 - Impact factor:
IFy = 11.06
P ublicationsy−1 + P ublicationsy−2
3. Environmental Impact Assessment Review - ISSN: 01959255 - SJR: Q1 -
Impact factor: 6.12
Table 1. Journals with the highest impact factor 4. Water Science and Technology - ISSN: 02731223 - SJR:Q2 - Impact factor:
2.43
Journal name 2021 JIF JIF Quartile

CA-A CANCER JOURNAL FOR CLINICIANS 286.13 Q1

LANCET 202,731 Q1
Conclusion
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 176,079 Q1
Journal metrics are valuable tools that aid in evaluating the impact and relevance of
JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 157,335 Q1
academic journals. Each metric has its unique calculation method, with the number
NATURE REVIEWS MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY 113,915 Q1
of citations being the most frequently used parameter. However, relying solely on
one metric may not provide a comprehensive view of a journal’s impact.
Despite of being the most important index to measure the impact, this factor have
critics such as (DORA, 2008): References
High skewness of citation distribution (Figure 1). Callaway, E. (2016, July). Beat it, impact factor! Publishing elite turns against con-
Each journal is composed by highly diverse article types including reviews and troversial metric. Nature, 535(7611), 210–211. Retrieved 2023-04-25, from
research papers. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.20224 (Number: 7611
It could be manipulated by editorial policy. Publisher: Nature Publishing Group) doi: 10.1038/nature.2016.20224
Data used to calculate the impact factor are neither transparent nor openly DORA. (2008). The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). Retrieved 2023-
available. 04-25, from https://sfdora.org/read/
Figure 1. Citations distribution in journals Elsevier. (2020, March). What is Journal Impact Factor? | Elsevier Author Services Blog.
Retrieved 2023-04-25, from https://scientific-publishing.webshop
Important taken from: (Callaway, 2016) .elsevier.com/research-process/what-journal-impact-factor/
(Section: Research Process)
it is not recommended to use journal Impact Factors to assess the quality of Waltman, L., & Traag, V. A. (2021, March). Use of the journal impact factor for as-
individual articles, to assess an individual scientist’s contributions, or hiring, pro- sessing individual articles: Statistically flawed or not? (Tech. Rep. No. 9:366).
motion, or funding decisions. F1000Research. Retrieved 2023-04-25, from https://f1000research
.com/articles/9-366 (Type: article) doi: 10.12688/f1000research.23418
.2

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Extensión at Univer-
sidad Industrial de Santander for providing financial support for the execution of
this project.

ORCID: 0000-0003-4893-303X Poster Session Jesus2228075@correo.uis.edu.co