Understanding the impact factor
TLDRIn the video 'Understanding the Impact Factor', Max, a student at TU Berlin, seeks to assess the relevance of journals for his paper on change management. Mrs. Miller guides him through the Web of Science database to understand impact factors, which measure citation frequency and quality standards. They explore the Journal of Management's impact factor, its self-cite rate, and its rank within the business category. Miller also highlights the limitations of impact factors, such as skewed representation and the influence of highly cited articles, and advises Max to consider additional parameters for a holistic evaluation of journal quality.
Takeaways
- 📚 Max is writing an academic paper on change management to overcome innovation barriers in companies.
- 🔍 He seeks help to determine the relevance of various journals for his research.
- 👉 Mrs. Miller suggests looking at the impact factor of journals as a measure of their citation frequency and influence.
- 📈 The impact factor indicates the average number of citations a journal's articles receive, suggesting quality standards.
- 🗂️ The Web of Science database is the source for finding a journal's impact factor.
- 🔎 Miss Miller demonstrates how to find the impact factor using the Journal Citation Reports tab.
- 📘 The impact factor is calculated based on citations of articles published in the two preceding years.
- ⚖️ Self-cites, or references to articles within the same journal, can artificially inflate a journal's impact factor.
- 📊 The Journal of Management's impact factor is adjusted for self-cites to provide a more accurate measure of its influence.
- 🏆 Impact factor rankings, such as the Journal of Management's 4th place out of 140 in the business category, help assess a journal's standing.
- 🚫 While widely used, the impact factor has its critics and should not be the sole measure of a journal's quality.
- 🌐 The impact factor is often skewed towards Anglo-American journals, with German and other language journals less represented.
- 📚 Max is advised to consider other parameters to get a comprehensive understanding of a journal's quality and relevance.
- 💌 Miss Miller and her team offer further assistance, either in person or via email.
Q & A
What is Max studying at TU Berlin and what is the subject of his academic paper?
-Max is studying at TU Berlin and is writing an academic paper on the subject of change management as a means of overcoming innovation barriers in companies.
What is Max unsure about regarding the journal articles he has found?
-Max is unsure about the relevance of the individual journals he has found for his research.
Why does Mrs. Miller advise Max to look at the impact factor of journals?
-Mrs. Miller advises Max to look at the impact factor of journals because it indicates the citation frequency of journals, allowing for comparisons and implying that journals with a high impact factor have a strong impact on the scientific community.
Where can the impact factor of journals be found according to Mrs. Miller?
-The impact factor of journals can be found in the Web of Science database.
How does Miss Miller show Max to access the Web of Science database?
-Miss Miller shows Max how to access the Web of Science database via the library's website.
What is the impact factor and how is it calculated?
-The impact factor is a measure of how often the average article in a journal is cited, calculated by determining how often articles from the two preceding years were cited in a specific year and relating this to the number of articles published by the journal in the same period.
What was the impact factor of the Journal of Management in 2017 without considering self-cites?
-The impact factor of the Journal of Management in 2017 without considering self-cites was 8.080, calculated from 137 articles published in 2016 and 2015 that were cited 1107 times in 2017.
What is a self-cite and how can it affect a journal's impact factor?
-A self-cite indicates how often articles in a journal refer to articles in the same journal. The impact factor of a journal can be deliberately increased by self-cites, which may not accurately reflect the journal's influence outside its own publications.
What was the self-cite rate of the Journal of Management in 2017 and how was the impact factor adjusted?
-The self-cite rate of the Journal of Management in 2017 was 2.499%. After adjusting for the self-cite rate, the impact factor was 7.824.
How does Miss Miller help Max understand the rank of the impact factor?
-Miss Miller shows Max the subject categories of the journals and explains that for his research, the category 'business' is most relevant. She also shows him that the Journal of Management ranks 4th out of 140 journals in this category in 2017.
What are some criticisms of the impact factor according to Miss Miller?
-Miss Miller mentions that a single highly cited article can significantly increase a journal's impact factor, and that the impact factor is mainly determined for Anglo-American journals, which can disadvantage journals in other languages, such as German.
What other parameters should Max consider to get a comprehensive picture of a journal's quality and relevance?
-Miss Miller suggests that Max should consider other parameters in addition to the impact factor to get a comprehensive picture of the quality and relevance of academic journals.
How can Max or others get help from Miss Miller and her colleagues?
-Max or others can get help from Miss Miller and her colleagues either in person or by emailing them at infokomeptence@wm.tu-berlin.de.
Outlines
📚 Understanding Impact Factors in Academic Journals
The video introduces Max, a student at TU Berlin, who is researching change management to overcome innovation barriers in companies. Max is unsure about the relevance of various journals he has found for his academic paper. Seeking guidance, he visits the Economics and Management Library where Mrs. Miller suggests examining the impact factor of journals. The impact factor, found in the Web of Science database, indicates citation frequency and allows for comparison between journals. A high impact factor suggests a journal has a strong influence within the scientific community and is likely to maintain high quality standards. Mrs. Miller demonstrates how to access the Web of Science and find the impact factor for the Journal of Management. The calculation involves the number of citations in 2017 relative to the number of articles published by the journal in the preceding two years. The Journal of Management's impact factor is adjusted for self-citations, resulting in a figure of 7.824. Max learns that the impact factor is not the sole measure of a journal's quality, as it can be influenced by a few highly cited articles and is predominantly calculated for Anglo-American journals. He is advised to consider additional parameters for a comprehensive evaluation. The video concludes with an invitation for further assistance from the library staff via email.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Impact Factor
💡Citation Frequency
💡Web of Science
💡Journal Citation Reports
💡Self Cites
💡Adjusted Impact Factor
💡Subject Categories
💡Quality Standards
💡Scientific Community
💡Criticism of Impact Factor
💡Comprehensive Picture
Highlights
Max is studying at TU Berlin and is writing an academic paper on change management as a means of overcoming innovation barriers in companies.
Max seeks advice on the relevance of individual journals for his research.
Mrs. Miller suggests looking at the impact factor of journals to gauge their relevance.
The impact factor indicates the citation frequency of journals, allowing for comparisons.
A high citation frequency implies a strong impact on the scientific community.
High impact factor journals are assumed to have high standards of quality.
The impact factor can be found in the Web of Science database.
Miss Miller shows Max how to access the Web of Science database via the library's website.
The Journal of Management's impact factor is found by calculating citations from the two preceding years.
In 2017, the Journal of Management had an impact factor of 8.080, based on 137 articles cited 1107 times.
The impact factor without Journal's self cites is an important metric for assessing a journal's true impact.
Self cites can artificially inflate a journal's impact factor.
The Journal of Management had a self cite rate of 2.499% in 2017.
Adjusted by the self cite rate, the Journal of Management's impact factor is 7.824.
Miss Miller explains how to assess the rank of a journal's impact factor within its subject category.
The Journal of Management ranks 4th out of 140 journals in the business category in 2017.
Miss Miller discusses the limitations of the impact factor as the sole indicator of a journal's quality.
A single highly cited article can significantly impact a journal's overall impact factor.
The impact factor is predominantly determined for Anglo-American journals, disadvantaging others.
Max is advised to consider other parameters for a comprehensive assessment of journal quality.
Miss Miller and her colleagues offer help in person or via email for further research inquiries.
Transcripts
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