
The ISI journal impact factor (JIF) is based on a sample that may represent half the whole-of-life citations to some journals, but a small fraction (<10%) of the citations accruing to other journals. This disproportionate sampling means that the JIF provides a misleading indication of the true impact of journals, biased in favour of journals that have a rapid rather than a prolonged impact. Many journals exhibit a consistent pattern of citation accrual from year to year, so it may be possible to adjust the JIF to provide a more reliable indication of a journal's impact.
9 pages, 8 figures; one reference corrected
FOS: Computer and information sciences, Laboratory and Basic Science Research, FOS: Biological sciences, Computer Science - Digital Libraries, Digital Libraries (cs.DL), Other Quantitative Biology (q-bio.OT), Quantitative Biology - Other Quantitative Biology
FOS: Computer and information sciences, Laboratory and Basic Science Research, FOS: Biological sciences, Computer Science - Digital Libraries, Digital Libraries (cs.DL), Other Quantitative Biology (q-bio.OT), Quantitative Biology - Other Quantitative Biology
| citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 57 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
