A multilevel meta-analysis of studies reporting correlations between the h index and 37 different h index variants

[Eugene Garfield]

A multilevel meta-analysis of studies reporting correlations between the h index 
and 37 different h index variants

Author(s): Bornmann, L (Bornmann, Lutz); Mutz, R (Mutz, Ruediger); Hug, SE 
(Hug, Sven E.); Daniel, HD (Daniel, Hans-Dieter)

Source: JOURNAL OF INFORMETRICS  Volume: 5  Issue: 3  Pages: 346-359  
DOI: 10.1016/j.joi.2011.01.006  Published: JUL 2011  

Abstract: This paper presents the first meta-analysis of studies that computed 
correlations between the h index and variants of the h index (such as the g 
index; in total 37 different variants) that have been proposed and discussed in 
the literature. A high correlation between the h index and its variants would 
indicate that the h index variants hardly provide added information to the h 
index. This meta-analysis included 135 correlation coefficients from 32 studies. 
The studies were based on a total sample size of N = 9005; on average, each 
study had a sample size of n = 257. The results of a three-level cross-classified 
mixed-effects meta-analysis show a high correlation between the h index and 
its variants: Depending on the model, the mean correlation coefficient varies 
between 8 and 9. This means that there is redundancy between most of the h 
index variants and the h index. There is a statistically significant study-to-
study variation of the correlation coefficients in the information they yield. The 
lowest correlation coefficients with the h index are found for the h index 
variants MII and m index. Hence, these h index variants make a non-redundant 
contribution to the h index. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Language: English
Document Type: Article

Author Keywords: h index; h index variants; Meta-analysis; Multilevel analysis
KeyWords Plus: HIRSCH-TYPE INDEXES; SCIENTIFIC-RESEARCH OUTPUT; SELF-
CITATION CORRECTIONS; RANDOM-EFFECTS MODELS; BIBLIOMETRIC 
INDICATORS; AUTHORED MANUSCRIPTS; RESEARCH PERFORMANCE; R-INDEX; 
IMPACT; INSTITUTIONS

Addresses: [Bornmann, L] Max Planck Soc, D-80539 Munich, Germany
[Mutz, R; Hug, SE; Daniel, HD] ETH, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
[Daniel, HD] Univ Zurich, Evaluat Off, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland
Reprint Address: Bornmann, L (reprint author), Max Planck Soc, Hofgartenstr 8, 
D-80539 Munich, Germany

E-mail Address: bornmann at gv.mpg.de
ISSN: 1751-1577
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751157711000071