Advantages and limitations in the use of impact factor measures for the assessment of research performance in a peripheral country
Advantages and limitations in the use of impact factor measures for the assessment of research performance in a peripheral country
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DOI：
10.1023/a:1014800407876
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发表时间：
2002-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Gómez, I
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bordons, M;Fernández, MT;Gómez, I
影响因子是一个准定性指标，衡量期刊的声望和国际知名度。尽管在过去二十年中越来越多地使用基于影响因子的指标来制定科学政策，但仍存在一些局限性，应牢记在心。在分析外围国家时应谨慎对待影响因子的使用，这些国家的国家期刊很难被 ISI 数据库覆盖。我们展示了使用基于影响因子的指标来分析西班牙科学成果的经验。显示了影响因子测量在宏观、中观和微观分析中的有用性。此外，还指出了影响因子的主要优点，例如影响因子的易获取性和即用性。还强调了一些限制，例如需要避免领域间比较或使用固定期刊集进行国际比较的便利性。值得注意的是，影响因子在研究评估过程中的使用强烈影响了科学家的发表策略。
Impact factor is a quasi-qualitative indicator, which provides a measurement of the prestige and international visibility of journals. Although the use of impact factor-based indicators for science policy purposes has increased over the last two decades, several limitations have been pointed out and should be borne in mind. The use of impact factor should be treated carefully when applied to the analysis of peripheral countries, whose national journals are hardly covered by ISI databases. Our experience in the use of impact factor based indicators for the analysis of the Spanish scientific production is shown. The usefulness of the impact factor measures in macro, meso and micro analyses is displayed. In addition, the main advantages, such as the great accessibility of impact factor and its ready-to-use nature are pointed out. Several limitations such as the need to avoid inter-field comparisons or the convenience of using a fixed journal set for international comparisons are also stressed. It is worth noting that the use of impact factor in the research evaluation process has influenced strongly the publication strategy of scientists.