Falagas, ME; Kouranos, VD; Arencibia-Jorge, R; Karageorgopoulos, DE Comparison of SCImago journal rank indicator with journal impact factor FASEB JOURNAL, 22 (8): 2623-2628 AUG 2008

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: m.falagas at aibs.gr 

Author(s): Falagas, ME (Falagas, Matthew E.); Kouranos, VD (Kouranos, 
Vasilios D.); Arencibia-Jorge, R (Arencibia-Jorge, Ricardo); 
Karageorgopoulos, DE (Karageorgopoulos, Drosos E.) 

Title: Comparison of SCImago journal rank indicator with journal impact 
factor 

Source: FASEB JOURNAL, 22 (8): 2623-2628 AUG 2008 

Language: English 

Document Type: Article 

Author Keywords: bibliometric analysis; quality of publications; 
bibliographic databases; mathematical computing; scientometrics 

Keywords Plus: SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS; SELF-CITATION; LANGUAGE; SCIENCE; 
EDITORS; TRENDS; PUBLICATION; ENGLISH; SCOPUS; BIAS 

Abstract: The application of currently available sophisticated algorithms 
of citation analysis allows for the incorporation of the "quality" of 
citations in the evaluation of scientific journals. We sought to compare 
the newly introduced SCImago journal rank (SJR) indicator with the journal 
impact factor ( IF). We retrieved relevant information from the official 
Web sites hosting the above indices and their source databases. The SJR 
indicator is an open-access resource, while the journal IF requires paid 
subscription. The SJR indicator ( based on Scopus data) lists considerably 
more journal titles published in a wider variety of countries and 
languages, than the journal IF ( based on Web of Science data). Both 
indices divide citations to a journal by articles of the journal, during a 
specific time period. However, contrary to the journal IF, the SJR 
indicator attributes different weight to citations depending on 
the "prestige" of the citing journal without the influence of journal self-
citations; prestige is estimated with the application of the PageRank 
algorithm in the network of journals. In addition, the SJR indicator 
includes the total number of documents of a journal in the denominator of 
the relevant calculation, whereas the journal IF includes only "citable" 
articles ( mainly original articles and reviews). A 3-yr period is 
analyzed in both indices but with the use of different approaches. 
Regarding the top 100 journals in the 2006 journal IF ranking order, the 
median absolute change in their ranking position with the use of the SJR 
indicator is 32 (1st quartile: 12; 3rd quartile: 75). Although further 
validation is warranted, the novel SJR indicator poses as a serious 
alternative to the well-established journal IF, mainly due to its 
openaccess nature, larger source database, and assessment of the quality 
of citations. 

Addresses: AIBS, Athens, Greece; Tufts Univ, Sch Med, Dept Med, Boston, MA 
02111 USA; Henry Dunant Hosp, Dept Med, Athens, Greece; Natl Ctr Sci Res, 
Network Scientometr Studies Higher Educ, Havana 6880, Cuba 
Reprint Address: Falagas, ME, Alfa Inst Biomed Sci, 9 Neapoleos St, 
Maroussi 15123, Greece. 

E-mail Address: m.falagas at aibs.gr 

Cited Reference Count: 41 

Times Cited: 0 

Publisher: FEDERATION AMER SOC EXP BIOL 

Publisher Address: 9650 ROCKVILLE PIKE, BETHESDA, MD 20814-3998 USA 

ISSN: 0892-6638 

DOI: 10.1096/fj.08-107938 

29-char Source Abbrev.: FASEB J 

ISO Source Abbrev.: Faseb J. 

Source Item Page Count: 6 

Subject Category: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Biology; Cell Biology 

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