Does Impact Factor (IF) depict the quality of science? - Higher IF = Good quality of science and vice versa?
IF = Science factor or Commercial factor?
Is IF a science factor or a commercial factor?
Hi,
The IF is a scientific measure of the relations of the number of citations to the number of publications of a journal. It is used to rank journals. It is the most accepted measurement of journals' quality these days, but its real scientific value is debatable.
"It is the most accepted measurement of journals' quality these days, but its real scientific value is debatable."
It is probably a good measure of the quality of a journal, but not of any specific article in it.
@Dr. Avishag Gordon and @Dr. Anthony G Godron, Thank you very much for your kind responses.
--- It is the most accepted measurement of journals' quality these days, but its real scientific value is debatable (Dr. Avishag Gordon).
--- It is probably a good measure of the quality of a journal, but not of any specific article in it (Dr. Anthony G Godron).
My question was basically aimed at this. Does an Impact factor of a journal depict the quality of science published in it? Or IF is just a commercial factor (IF is due to the good commercialization of the journal such as including that journal in more number of databases or associating/linking that journal with good publishing platforms such as Elsevier, Springer, Willey, and Taylor & Francis etc.)
"Does an Impact factor of a journal depict the quality of science published in it?"
Yes, in general, but not in particular.
If job applicants have a single publication in a top journal, this tells us little about the quality of the applicant. If, on the other hand, they have had 5 papers in top journals, then they are first class, and their work is of a consistent high standard.
Thank you very much, Dr. Anthony G Gordon, for your valuable time and answers to the question.
Hi Sana,
The papers that are published in a high impact journals are going through a process of referees' evaluation. The evaluation in a high impact journal are usually more demanding than in peripheral journal. So, we can assume that the impact factor of a journal reflects some quality level beyond its commercial influence.
Thank you very much, Dr. Avishag Gordon, for your valuable time and answers to the question.
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