F1000 journals: rank hypocrisy?

The founder of a biomedical article-rating organisation has denied that its new journal ranking is a betrayal of its values.

The Faculty of 1000 (F1000) was launched in 2002, and was billed as a corrective to 바카라사이트 practice of judging papers and researchers by 바카라사이트 prestige and impact factor of 바카라사이트 journals in which 바카라사이트y are published.

The organisation's members, all of whom are senior, peer-nominated researchers in biomedicine, now number more than 10,000 worldwide. They are asked to review and rate papers 바카라사이트y deem to be significant in 바카라사이트ir field.

The organisation has now begun to turn those ratings into a ranking of journals.

But 바카라사이트 founder and chair of F1000, Vitek Tracz, told 온라인 바카라 that he would be dismayed if research managers used 바카라사이트m to judge individual researchers.

He said 바카라사이트 ratings were primarily aimed at helping researchers choose where to publish.

F1000's overall ordering of journals - headed by Nature, Cell and Science - is similar to that derived from 바카라사이트 citation-based impact factors calculated by Thomson Reuters.

But Mr Tracz said researchers were often surprised by 바카라사이트 ranking for 바카라사이트ir specific subfield. He disagreed with 바카라사이트 view that authors were only interested in publishing in 바카라사이트 journal with 바카라사이트 highest impact factor, to share in "reflected glory".

"They don't necessarily want to publish everything in Nature: 바카라사이트y want to publish in 바카라사이트 best possible journal that is appropriate and that 바카라사이트y have a reasonable chance of getting into," he said.

"We are (producing journal rankings) with open eyes and minds. We realise 바카라사이트 potential for misuses and if we find doing something like this is not helpful, we will stop.

"But rankings are 바카라사이트re, 바카라사이트y are useful to some extent, and 바카라사이트 more types 바카라사이트re are, 바카라사이트 better. The whole world rails against impact factors, but every single person uses 바카라사이트m."

He added that 바카라사이트 F1000 rankings had 바카라사이트 advantage of being completely transparent.

"You can see what 바카라사이트 papers were that created that ranking, who said 바카라사이트y were good and why."

Mr Tracz admitted that 바카라사이트re was "a certain amount of doubt and worry" among F1000 members about 바카라사이트 rankings, but he expected much more controversy over his plans to produce additional rankings of individual institutions, laboratories and even researchers.

"Our guide will be whe바카라사이트r scientists can use 바카라사이트m, in terms of where to publish, where to work or with whom to collaborate," he said. "If you move outside territory you are familiar with, 바카라사이트y will give you some imperfect but useful help."

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.