Impact factor, H index, peer comparisons, and <it>Retrovirology</it>: is it time to individualize citation metrics?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>There is a natural tendency to judge a gift by the attractiveness of its wrapping. In some respect, this reflects current mores of measuring the gravitas of a scientific paper based on the journal cover in which the work appears. Most journals have an impact fact...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jeang Kuan-Teh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2007-06-01
Series:Retrovirology
Online Access:http://www.retrovirology.com/content/4/1/42
Description
Summary:<p>Abstract</p> <p>There is a natural tendency to judge a gift by the attractiveness of its wrapping. In some respect, this reflects current mores of measuring the gravitas of a scientific paper based on the journal cover in which the work appears. Most journals have an impact factor (IF) which some proudly display on their face page. Although historically journal IF has been a convenient quantitative shorthand, has its (mis)use contributed to inaccurate perceptions of the quality of scientific articles? Is now the time that equally convenient but more individually accurate metrics be adopted?</p>
ISSN:1742-4690