The impact factor

Intra-Specialty Citation Pattern in Radiology and Gastroenterology/Hepatology Journals: A Cross-Specialty Comparison

Objectives: To investigate intra-specialty citation patterns of radiology articles, compared with another medical specialty: gastroenterology/hepatology. Methods: Four radiology journals (Radiology, European Radiology, Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal) and four gastroenterology/hepatology journals (Journal of Hepatology, Journal of Gastroenterology, World Journal of Gastroenterology, Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology) with similar Web of Science in-category 2020 IF ranking were selected. The original research, review, letter, and editorial articles published in these journals in 2021 were identified. The average number of intra-specialty citations per article (intra-specialty citation count) and percentage of intra-specialty citations out of total citations per article (intra-specialty citation rate) were compared between radiology and gastroenterology/hepatology articles using Student's t-test. Results: The radiology articles demonstrated a lower total citation count per article (radiology: 29.7 ± .4 (mean ± SEM), n = 2063; gastroenterology/hepatology: 50.1 ± 1.4, n = 1335). The intra-specialty citation count was also lower in radiology articles than gastroenterology/hepatology articles (radiology: 12.9 ± .2, gastroenterology/hepatology: 19.6 ± .7; P < .001), both overall and in all article types. Additionally, the overall intra-specialty citation rate was not significantly different between the two specialties (radiology: 48.8% ± .5%; gastroenterology/hepatology: 47.1 ± .8%; P = .057), although the intra-specialty citation rates were higher in radiology original research and editorial article types. Conclusions: The significantly lower per-article intra-specialty citation counts in all radiology article types, a measurement that directly links to specialty IFs, may contribute to the lower impact factors of radiology journals compared with gastroenterology/hepatology ones.

Alternative bibliometrics from impact factor improved the esteem of a journal in a 2-year-ahead annual-citation calculation: multivariate analysis of gastroenterology and hepatology journals

INTRODUCTION

A deeper understanding of supplementary bibliometrics beyond the impact factor might provide researchers with a better understanding of the citation process. This study presents a multivariate analysis of gastroenterology and hepatology journals to evaluate the predictive ability of seven bibliometrics in the Web of Science to calculate total cites over a 2-year period.

METHODS

Coincidentally, bibliometrics appearing during 2008, 2009, and 2010, with their corresponding cites in 2010, 2011, and 2012, were recorded from the Journal Citation Reports Science Edition. A linear mixed-effects design using random slopes and intercepts was performed on 51 out of 74 journals in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology category.

RESULT

There was a significant global effect size (R(2) = 0.992; P < 0.001), which yielded a total variance of 99.2%. The strongest predictors in the model were the Eigenfactor Score and Cited Half-life (P < 0.001), followed by the Number of Articles (P = 0.011) and the Immediacy Index (P = 0.021). The impact factor was not a significant predictor.

CONCLUSION

The Eigenfactor Score and Cited Half-life predictors might be the new standards to assess the influence and importance of scientific journals; this approach may help researchers select journals in which to publish their work.