Skewed citation distributions and bias factors: Solutions to two core problems with the journal impact factor |
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| Authors: | Rüdiger Mutz Hans-Dieter Daniel |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute for Education and Information Sciences, IBW, University of Antwerp, Venusstraat 35, Antwerp B-2000, Belgium;2. Faculty of Engineering Technology, VIVES-KHBO (Association KU Leuven), Zeedijk 101, Oostende B-8400, Belgium;3. KU Leuven, Leuven B-3000, Belgium;4. Library of Tongji University, Tongji University, Siping Street, 1239, Shanghai 200092, China;1. Beijing Institute of Science and Technology Information, Beijing 100044, PR China;2. National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China;3. School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China;1. National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Graduate Institute of Patent, No. 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;2. National Taiwan University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;3. National Taiwan University, Department of Library and Information Science, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;4. National Taiwan University, Center for Research in Econometric Theory and Applications (CRETA), No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;1. Graduate Institute of Patent, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 10607, Taiwan;2. Department of Library and Information Science, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 10617, Taiwan;3. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Institute of Industrial Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 10617, Taiwan |
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| Abstract: | The journal impact factor (JIF) proposed by Garfield in the year 1955 is one of the most prominent and common measures of the prestige, position, and importance of a scientific journal. The JIF may profit from its comprehensibility, robustness, methodological reproducibility, simplicity, and rapid availability, but it is at the expense of serious technical and methodological flaws. The paper discusses two core problems with the JIF: first, citations of documents are generally not normally distributed, and, furthermore, the distribution is affected by outliers, which has serious consequences for the use of the mean value in the JIF calculation. Second, the JIF is affected by bias factors that have nothing to do with the prestige or quality of a journal (e.g., document type). For solving these two problems, we suggest using McCall's area transformation and the Rubin Causal Model. Citation data for documents of all journals in the ISI Subject Category “Psychology, Mathematical” (Journal Citation Report) are used to illustrate the proposal. |
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