Jette AM "How do you measure a journal's worth?" Physical Therapy 85(12): 1275-1276 December 2005

[Eugene Garfield]

FULL TEXT AVAILABLE AT : http://www.ptjournal.org/Dec2005/Dec05_EdNote.cfm
JOURNAL URL: http://www.ptjournal.org


Title: How do you measure a journal's worth?

Author(s): Jette AM

Source: PHYSICAL THERAPY 85 (12): 1275-1276 DEC 2005

Document Type: Editorial Material      Language: English
Cited References: 3                    Times Cited: 0

Publisher: AMER PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOC, 1111 N FAIRFAX ST, ALEXANDRIA, VA
22314 USA
Subject Category: ORTHOPEDICS; REHABILITATION; REHABILITATION
IDS Number: 997RG
ISSN: 0031-9023


CITED REFERENCES
APTA READERSHIP SURV : 2005

 GARFIELD E
5 INT C PEER REV BIO : 2005

 SAHA S
Impact factor: a valid measure of journal quality?
JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 91 : 42 2003



EXCERPT FROM PAPER :
The IF is a simple yet elegant measurement that is based on the frequency
with which a journal’s substantive articles are cited in the scientific
literature. To generate the IF for a particular journal (Physical Therapy)
in a given year (2004), we calculate the ratio of the number of citations
to any items published in that journal in the previous 2 years (201)
relative to the total number of substantive articles published in the
journal during that same 2-year period (103). By dividing the 201 citations
by the 103 articles, we arrive at an impact factor of 1.95. We can
interpret the meaning of an IF for a particular journal by comparing it to
the IFs of other journals that are placed in the same category by Journal
Citation Reports (JCR).

So, how good is an IF of 1.95? Physical Therapy’s impact factor currently
is #2 among the top 25 rehabilitation journals published in the world as
ranked by JCR, surpassed only by the Journal of Electromyography and
Kinesiology in the #1 position (IF=2.1). In 2003 and 2002, Physical Therapy
was ranked #1 among all 20 rehabilitation journals, and its IF has improved
consistently over the past 7 years, from 1.192 in 1998 to its current value
of just under 2.0.