Elkins, MR; Maher, CG; Herbert, RD; Moseley, AM; Sherrington, C. 2010. Correlation between the Journal Impact Factor and three other journal citation indices. SCIENTOMETRICS 85 (1): 81-93

[Eugene Garfield]

Elkins, MR; Maher, CG; Herbert, RD; Moseley, AM; Sherrington, C. 2010. 
Correlation between the Journal Impact Factor and three other journal citation 
indices. SCIENTOMETRICS 85 (1): 81-93.

Author Full Name(s): Elkins, Mark R.; Maher, Christopher G.; Herbert, Robert D.; 
Moseley, Anne M.; Sherrington, Catherine

Language: English
Document Type: Article
Author Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Citation analysis; Impact factor
KeyWords Plus: SCIENCE; NONSENSE; SENSE; TOOL

Abstract: To determine the degree of correlation among journal citation indices 
that reflect the average number of citations per article, the most recent journal 
ratings were downloaded from the websites publishing four journal citation 
indices: the Institute of Scientific Information's journal impact factor index, 
Eigenfactor's article influence index, SCImago's journal rank index and Scopus' 
trend line index. Correlations were determined for each pair of indices, using 
ratings from all journals that could be identified as having been rated on both 
indices. Correlations between the six possible pairings of the four indices were 
tested with Spearman's rho. Within each of the six possible pairings, the 
prevalence of identifiable errors was examined in a random selection of 10 
journals and among the 10 most discordantly ranked journals on the two 
indices. The number of journals that could be matched within each pair of 
indices ranged from 1,857 to 6,508. Paired ratings for all journals showed strong 
to very strong correlations, with Spearman's rho values ranging from 0.61 to 
0.89, all p < 0.001. Identifiable errors were more common among scores for 
journals that had very discordant ranks on a pair of indices. These four journal 
citation indices were significantly correlated, providing evidence of convergent 
validity (i.e. they reflect the same underlying construct of average citability per 
article in a journal). Discordance in the ranking of a journal on two indices was 
in some cases due to an error in one index.

Addresses: [Elkins, Mark R.] Royal Prince Alfred Hosp, Dept Resp Med, 
Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia; [Maher, Christopher G.; Herbert, Robert D.; 
Moseley, Anne M.; Sherrington, Catherine] Univ Sydney, George Inst Int Hlth, 
Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia

Reprint Address: Elkins, MR, Royal Prince Alfred Hosp, Dept Resp Med, 
Missenden Rd, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia.

E-mail Address: elkinsm at med.usyd.edu.au
ISSN: 0138-9130
DOI: 10.1007/s11192-010-0262-0
Fulltext: http://www.springerlink.com/content/p24251g0l54r3w24/