Tools for evaluating research output. Are citation-based rankings of economics journals stable?
Journal rankings are important for evaluating research output, for academic promotions, and for allocating funds. Examining the assignment of economics journals to different quartiles of citation-based rankings, the authors found that about 60% of journals remain in the same quartile and about 95% of journals remain in the same or move in a neighborhood quartile within 5- to 10-year intervals. Top journal rankings exhibit even more inertia, which is a desirable property for decisions on promotion, tenure, or institutional evaluation. A reexamination of journal assignment to different quality categories every 5 or 10 years, therefore, suffices for practical evaluation purposes.
Sutter
M
M
Institute of Public Economics, University of Innsbruck, Universitaetsstrasse 15/4, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. matthias.sutter@uibk.ac.at
Kocher
M G
MG
D000043:Abstracting and Indexing; D015706:Bibliometrics; D002322:Career Mobility; D004467:Economics; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012109:Research Support as Topic