Health Science Journal Impact Ratings: 2004
The following Access database includes Journal Impact Factor (JIF) ratings of major journals in a number of Health Science disciplines. As described below, the JIF is a measure of the importance of a journal. Not all journals have impact rankings and what constitutes a 'good' JIF rating may vary from journal to journal. Generally, higher JIF scores denote greater importance, so in selecting a potential journal outlet, keep in mind that higher index ranking journals will carry more prestige.
To avoid biases of only considering journals indexed in PubMed/Medline, we have included journals indexed in both PubMed and CINAHL. Thanks to our Health Sciences reference librarian, Renee Davis, for her help in organizing these tables.
The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is reported annually in the Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Scientific, formerly called the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). Journal Impact Factor provides a quantitative tool that can be used for ranking, evaluating, categorizing, and comparing academic journals. JIF is a ratio that expresses the frequency with which the "average article" in a journal has been cited during one year's time. An example of the ratio is given below. The use of JIF eliminates bias which can occur from favoring larger journals over smaller ones, older journals over newer ones, or frequently issued over less frequently issued journals.
| A= 2004 cites to articles published in a given journal during the 2002-2003 years |
| B= number of articles published in that journal 2002-2003 |
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Impact factor= A/B = 2004 impact factor
Further information can be viewed at Thomson Scientific: http://www.isinet.com.
Perry Library receives the annual Journal Citation Reports on CD-ROM. There are two CDs, one for Sciences and one for Social Sciences. Journals in the health sciences are included on both CDs. The CD-ROMs are kept at the Reference Desk. To use them or to request assistance, please contact Renee Davis or ask the staff member at the reference desk. |
