Skip to Main Content
Library and Information Services for the East Metropolitan Health Service and the South Metropolitan Health Service banner Library and Information Services for the East Metropolitan Health Service and the South Metropolitan Health Service home Library and Information Services for the East Metropolitan Health Service and the South Metropolitan Health Service logo

Research

Measuring Impact

There are various methods of measuring the impact of a publication, a researcher and their research.

  • H-Index : an index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output (J.E. Hirsch).
  • Beamplots - A beamplot shows the volume and citation impact of an individual’s publication portfolio through time.
  • Citation Analysis : the process whereby the impact or "quality" of an article is assessed by counting the number of times other authors mention it in their work.
  • Impact Factor : a measure of the frequency in which the average article in a journal is cited in a particular year. Impact factors measure the impact of a journal, not the impact of individual articles or authors.

The End of Journal Impact Factor Purgatory (and Numbers to the Thousandths) - The Scholarly Kitchen - 26 July 2022

Measures of Impact for Journals, Articles, and Authors - Journal of General Internal Medicine - 23 March 2022

Why I wrote an impact CV - Nature - 1 February 2022

Put that on the CV: the impact of research [includes an impact CV template] - AAMRI - Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes - 1 February 2022

A science impact framework to measure impact beyond journal metrics - PLOS One - 22 December 2020

Author Metrics - Web of Science

To find an author's impact beamplot and H-index count in Web of Science:

  • Enter the name of the author in the search box (e.g. Smith JT) and select the Author Search option..
  • To ensure accuracy for popular names, add an additional search box, enter their institution and then select “Address” from the field drop down menu on the right.
  • Click on Search
  • Check the Citation Network box to the right of the results.  It shows the H-Index, Total Publications, Sum of Times Cited and Citing Articles.

Journal Impact Factors and Other Measures

The Web of Science has a module called Journal Citation Reports that tracks journal impact factors.  The Library does not have a subscription to this module.

  • Most journals will list their latest impact factor on their website
  • SCIJournal.org lists the impact factors of many medical journals

Changes to Journal Impact Factor Announced for 2021 - Scholarly Kitchen - 7 December 2020

Translational Research Impact