Research Guides: Bibliometrics and Altmetrics: Journal-Level Metrics

The h-index/h-3/h-5 index

The h-index was proposed by Jorge E. Hirsch, a physicist at UC San Diego, in 2005. It means that the journal has published at least h papers that have each received at least h citations. The h-3 or h-5 index measures the h-index over the last three or five years.

Uses

Identify highly cited journals

Concerns

Disparities between disciplines
Biased against newer journals, journals that are issued less frequently, and journals on narrow topics
Some types of articles (e.g. literature reviews) tend to be more highly cited, so journals publishing a lot of them have an advantage
Easy to manipulate
Citations do not measure quality

Tools

Scimago Journal Rankings
Scimago tracks the h-index for journals and also has a proprietary measure for ranking journals called Scimago Journal Rank (SJR)
Google Scholar
Useful for tracing citations forward to find newer sources, finding open-access copies of articles, and bibliometrics

The JCR Impact Factor

The Journal Citation Reports (JCR) Impact Factor is a Clarivate Analytics proprietary bibliometric measure. It measures the ratio of citations in the past two years to scholarly items (articles, reviews, and proceedings) published in the past two years.

Uses

Identify highly cited journals

Concerns

Proprietary to Clarivate Analytics
Not all journals are included
Disparities between disciplines
Biased against journals in languages other than English and against journals not published in the U.S.
Citations do not measure quality

Tools

Journal websites frequently advertise their impact factor

Clarivate Journal Citation Reports
Note that FHSU does not subscribe to JCR

Scimago Journal Rank

The Scimago Journal Rank is an Elsevier proprietary bibliometric measure. It is based on average citations per paper in the last three years, but with citations from more prestigious journals given more weight.

Uses

Identify highly cited journals

Concerns

Proprietary to Elsevier
Not all journals are included
Disparities between disciplines
Biased against journals in languages other than English and against journals not published in the U.S.
Citations do not measure quality

Tools

Scimago Journal Rankings
Scimago tracks the h-index for journals and also has a proprietary measure for ranking journals called Scimago Journal Rank (SJR)

Choosing a Journal

Cabell's Directories of Publishing Opportunities
Cabells provides journal info, evaluation metrics, and submission details. FHSU subscribes to the Business and Economics sections.
Directory of Open Access Journals
The Directory of Open Access Journals is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
Grand Valley State University: Open Access Journal Quality Indicators
These guidelines are intended to help you evaluate open access publications as you consider appropriate publication venues and invitations to serve as a reviewer or editor.
SHERPA/RoMEO
SHERPA RoMEO is an online resource that aggregates and analyzes publisher open access policies from around the world. It provides summaries of self-archiving permissions and author rights on a journal-by-journal basis.
ThinkCheckSubmit
Think. Check. Submit. helps researchers identify trusted journals for their research. This international, cross-sector initiative aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.

MLA Directory of Periodicals This link opens in a new window
The MLA Directory of Periodicals contains all information available on the journals and series on the MLA International Bibliography's Master List of Periodicals.

Open in Order to Increase Your Impact: Metric Soup
This presentation explains impact factors, the h-index, altmetrics, and other standard measures of research impact. It demonstrates the validity of these metrics for different use cases and discusses how open access publishing can help you increase the impact of your research.

Scimago Journal Rankings
Scimago tracks the h-index for journals and also has a proprietary measure for ranking journals called Scimago Journal Rank (SJR)
Be Wary of Predatory Journals
The University of Missouri Libraries' Where to Publish Your Research guide provides a robust list of information and tips to assist authors who want to publish their work. It includes important and detailed information and suggestions for identifying where NOT to publish your work.