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Journal Impact Factor Formula:
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Journal Impact Factor (IF) is a measure of the frequency with which the average article in a journal has been cited in a particular year. It is used to measure the importance or rank of a journal by calculating the times its articles are cited.
The calculator uses the Journal Impact Factor formula:
Where:
Explanation: The Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the current year to articles published in the two previous years by the total number of citable articles published in the two previous years.
Details: Journal Impact Factor is widely used as a metric for evaluating the relative importance of journals within their fields. It helps researchers identify influential journals and assists libraries in collection development decisions.
Tips: Enter the number of citations received in the current year and the number of citable articles published in the previous two years. Both values must be valid positive numbers.
Q1: What is considered a good Impact Factor?
A: Impact Factor values vary by field. Generally, IF > 10 is considered excellent, IF 5-10 is very good, and IF 3-5 is good in most scientific fields.
Q2: How often is Impact Factor updated?
A: Journal Impact Factors are typically updated annually and released in the Journal Citation Reports published by Clarivate Analytics.
Q3: What are the limitations of Impact Factor?
A: Impact Factor can be influenced by review articles (which get more citations), varies across disciplines, and doesn't reflect the quality of individual articles.
Q4: Can Impact Factor be manipulated?
A: Yes, through practices like excessive self-citation, publishing more review articles, or reducing the number of citable items.
Q5: Are there alternative metrics to Impact Factor?
A: Yes, alternatives include CiteScore, SCImago Journal Rank, Eigenfactor, and article-level metrics like Altmetrics.