Karageorgopoulos, DE; Lamnatou, V; Sardi, TA; Gkegkes, ID; Falagas, ME. 2011. Temporal Trends in the Impact Factor of European versus USA Biomedical Journals. PLOS ONE 6 (2): art. no.-e16300.

[Eugene Garfield]

Karageorgopoulos, DE; Lamnatou, V; Sardi, TA; Gkegkes, ID; Falagas, ME. 
2011. Temporal Trends in the Impact Factor of European versus USA Biomedical 
Journals. PLOS ONE 6 (2): art. no.-e16300.

Author Full Name(s): Karageorgopoulos, Drosos E.; Lamnatou, Vasiliki; Sardi, 
Thalia A.; Gkegkes, Ioannis D.; Falagas, Matthew E.
Language: English
Document Type: Article

KeyWords Plus: PUBLICATION
Abstract: Background: The impact factors of biomedical journals tend to rise 
over time. We sought to assess the trend in the impact factor, during the past 
decade, of journals published on behalf of United States (US) and European 
scientific societies, in four select biomedical subject categories (Biology, Cell 
Biology, Critical Care Medicine, and Infectious Diseases).
Methods: We identified all journals included in the above-mentioned subject 
categories of Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports (R) for the years 1999, 
2002, 2005, and 2008. We selected those that were published on behalf of US 
or European scientific societies, as documented in journal websites.
Results: We included 167 journals (35 in the subject category of Biology, 79 in 
Cell Biology, 27 in Critical Care Medicine, and 26 in Infectious Diseases). 
Between 1999 and 2008, the percentage increase in the impact factor of the 
European journals was higher than for the US journals (73.7 +/- 110.0% 
compared with 39.7 +/- 70.0%, p = 0.049). Regarding specific subject 
categories, the percentage change in the factor of the European journals 
tended to be higher than the respective US journals for Cell Biology (61.7% 
versus 16.3%), Critical Care Medicine (212.4% versus 65.4%), Infectious 
Diseases (88.3% versus 48.7%), whereas the opposite was observed for 
journals in Biology (41.0% versus 62.5%).
Conclusion: Journals published on behalf of European scientific societies, in 
select biomedical fields, may tend to close the "gap" in impact factor compared 
with those of US societies.
What's Already Known About This Topic? The impact factors of biomedical 
journals tend to rise through years. The leading positions in productivity in 
biomedical research are held by developed countries, including those from North 
America and Western Europe.
What Does This Article Add? The journals from European biomedical scientific 
societies tended, over the past decade, to increase their impact factor more 
than the respective US journals.

Addresses: [Karageorgopoulos, Drosos E.; Lamnatou, Vasiliki; Sardi, Thalia A.; 
Gkegkes, Ioannis D.; Falagas, Matthew E.] Alfa Inst Biomed Sci, Athens, 
Greece; [Falagas, Matthew E.] Henry Dunant Hosp, Dept Med, Athens, Greece; 
[Falagas, Matthew E.] Tufts Univ, Sch Med, Dept Med, Boston, MA 02111 USA

Reprint Address: Karageorgopoulos, DE, Alfa Inst Biomed Sci, Athens, Greece.

E-mail Address: m.falagas at aibs.gr
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016300
fulltext: 
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.001630
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