IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/osfxxx/8g67q_v1.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Why most journal impact factors are false

Author

Listed:
  • Moustafa, Khaled

    (Founder & Editor of ArabiXiv)

Abstract

The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is a widely used metric for ranking journals based on the number of citations garnered by papers published over a specific timeframe. To assess the accuracy of JIF values, I compared citation counts for 20 of my own publications across six major bibliography databases: CrossRef, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Publishing journal records. The analysis revealed noteworthy variations in citation counts, ranging from 10% to over 50% between the lowest and highest citation counts. Google Scholar records the highest citation numbers, while PubMed reported the lowest. Notably, Web of Science, whose citation data are used in JIF calculations, tend to underestimate citation counts compared to other databases. These findings raise concerns about the accuracy of JIF calculation, as currently based on Web of Science’s citation data. The real JIF values for most journals would differ from those annually reported by Clarivate's journal citation reports (JCR). These observations underscore the importance of comprehensive data collection and the necessity to include additional citation sources. Clarivate Analytics may need to consider integrating all citation sources for more accurate JIF values. Alternatively, Google Scholar could potentially develop its own journal or citation impact based on its extensive journal citation records.

Suggested Citation

  • Moustafa, Khaled, 2024. "Why most journal impact factors are false," OSF Preprints 8g67q_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:8g67q_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/8g67q_v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/65ba995b9b32ca03b197f19e/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/8g67q_v1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:8g67q_v1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://osf.io/preprints/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.