Differences in the rank position of journals by Eigenfactor metrics and the five‐year impact factor in the Journal Citation Reports and the Eigenfactor Project web site
| Published date | 22 June 2010 |
| Pages | 496-508 |
| Date | 22 June 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521011054099 |
| Author | Péter Jacsó |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
SAVVY SEARCHING
Differences in the rank position of
journals by Eigenfactor metrics
and the five-year impact factor in
the Journal Citation Reports and
the Eigenfactor Project web site
Pe
´ter Jacso
´
University of Hawaii, Hawaii, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The traditional, annually issued Journal Citation Reports (JCR) have been enhanced since
the 2007 edition by the Eigenfactor Scores (EFS), the Article Influence Scores (AIS) and the five-year
Journal Impact Factor (JIF-5). This paper aims to focus on the issues.
Design/methodology/approach – These scientometric indicators are also available from the
Eigenfactor Project web site that uses data from the yearly updates of the JCR.
Findings – Although supposedly identical data sources are used for computing the metrics, there are
differences in the absolute scores reported, which in turn resulted in significant (more than ten rank
positions) changes for several journals in the sample.
Originality/value – The differences in the scores and rank positions by the three new scientometric
indicators of 52 journals in the Information and Library Science category were analysed to determine
the range of differences and the extent of changes in rank positions.
Keywords Information science, Databases, Serials, Quality indicators
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
The founders of the Eigenfactor Project launched the first public release of the
Eigenfactor database in 2007 (Bergstrom, 2007). Thomson Reuters started to include
first the five-year Journal Impact Factor ( JIF-5) in the customary yearly update, then, in
an unusual in-between years update added the two Eigenfactor scores to the second
release of 2007 edition (JCR-2007) which was released in January 2009
(Thomson-Reuters, 2009). For this re search (prompted by spot checking the
indicators of a few journals in both databases, and seeing significant differences) the
2007 edition/segment of the two databases ( JCR-2007 and EF-2007) have been used for
a limited, but systematic analysis.
The differences between the two-year and five-year journal impact factors, and the
rank position changes within JCR-2007 have been analysed for the Information and
Library Science category ( Jacso
´, 2009a; Rousseau, 2009). The advantages and
limitations of the Eigenfactor metrics, which are based on a five-year target window,
were reviewed and compared in several multidisciplinary and discipline-specific
journals (Fersht, 2009; Bergstrom and West, 2008; Yin et al., 2009).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
OIR
34,3
496
Online Information Review
Vol. 34 No. 3, 2010
pp. 496-508
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684521011054099
To continue reading
Request your trial