Smith, DR. 2010. A longitudinal analysis of bibliometric and impact factor trends among the core international journals of nursing, 1977-2008. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING STUDIES 47 (12): 1491-1499

[Eugene Garfield]

Smith, DR. 2010. A longitudinal analysis of bibliometric and impact factor trends 
among the core international journals of nursing, 1977-2008. INTERNATIONAL 
JOURNAL OF NURSING STUDIES 47 (12): 1491-1499..

Author Full Name(s): Smith, Derek R.
Language: English
Document Type: Article

Author Keywords: Nursing; Bibliometrics; Citation analysis; Impact factor
KeyWords Plus: CITATION ANALYSIS; MEDICAL JOURNALS; OCCUPATIONAL-
HEALTH; EDITORIAL NURSES; SCIENCE; OPHTHALMOLOGY; PUBLICATIONS; 
EVOLUTION; CATEGORY; QUALITY

Abstract: Background Although bibliometric analysis affords significant insight 
into the progression and distribution of information within a particular research 
field detailed longitudinal studies of this type are rare within the field of nursing
Objectives This study aimed to investigate from a bibliometric perspective the 
progression and trends of core international nursing journals over the longest 
possible time period
Methods A detailed bibliometric analysis was undertaken among 7 core 
international nursing periodicals using custom historical data sourced from the 
Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports (R)
Results In the 32 years between 1977 and 2008 the number of citations 
received by these 7 journals increased over 700% A sustained and statistically 
significant (p < 0 001) 3-fold increase was also observed in the average impact 
factor score during this period Statistical analysis revealed that all periodicals 
experienced significant (p < 0 001) improvements in their Impact factors over 
time with gains ranging from approximately 2- to 78-fold
Conclusions Overall this study provides one of the most comprehensive 
longitudinal bibliometric analyses ever conducted in the field of nursing 
Impressive and continual impact factor gains suggest that published nursing 
research is being increasingly seen heard and cited in the international 
academic community (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Addresses: Univ Newcastle, Sch Hlth Sci, Fac Hlth, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, 
Australia

Reprint Address: Smith, DR, Univ Newcastle, Sch Hlth Sci, Fac Hlth, Ourimbah, 
NSW 2258, Australia.

ISSN: 0020-7489
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2010.05.006
fulltext: 
http://www.journalofnursingstudies.com/article/PIIS0020748910001720/fulltext