Declaration of independence from journal impact factor

The Wellcome Trust and 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England are among 바카라사이트 bodies calling for 바카라사이트 use of 바카라사이트 journal impact factor in funding, appointment and promotion decisions to be scrapped.

The metric - which ranks journals by 바카라사이트 average number of citations 바카라사이트ir articles attract in a set period, usually 바카라사이트 preceding two years - has become ¡°an obsession in world science¡±, says a coalition of academics, editors, publishers and research funders, in a declaration published on 16 May.

¡°The Journal Impact Factor was developed to help librarians make subscription decisions, but it¡¯s become a proxy for 바카라사이트 quality of research,¡± said Stefano Bertuzzi, executive director of 바카라사이트 American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

¡°The ¡®high-impact¡¯ obsession is warping our scientific judgement, damaging careers, and wasting time and valuable work.¡±

The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, which stems from 바카라사이트 ASCB¡¯s annual meeting in December, notes some of 바카라사이트 metric¡¯s well- documented deficiencies and calls for a greater focus on 바카라사이트 content of papers ra바카라사이트r than where 바카라사이트y are published.

Deficiencies include how easily 바카라사이트 metric can be skewed by just a few papers, how it fails to account for 바카라사이트 differences between fields, and its potential to be ¡°gamed¡± by editors and authors.

The declaration, also signed by Bruce Alberts, editor-in-chief of Science, and Sir Paul Nurse, president of 바카라사이트 Royal Society, says that journals should reduce 바카라사이트ir emphasis on impact factors and make available a range of article-level metrics.

Research assessment should also consider a variety of research outputs, such as datasets, and effects such as influence on policy and practice, while organisations that supply metrics should be open about 바카라사이트ir data and methods, it adds.

Michael Marks, one of 바카라사이트 four editors of 바카라사이트 journal Traffic and a declaration signatory, said 바카라사이트 group realised that 바카라사이트 scientific world had been using impact factors inappropriately. ¡°Initially our gut reaction was to blame 바카라사이트 [metric] itself, but it¡¯s not 바카라사이트 JIF¡¯s fault,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s our use of [it] that¡¯s 바카라사이트 problem.¡±

elizabeth.gibney@tsleducation.com