Sometimes the impact factor outshines the H index.
Journal impact factor (which reflects a particular journal's quality) and H index (which reflects the number and quality of an author's publications) are two measures of research quality. It has been argued that the H index outperforms the impact factor for evaluation purposes. Using articles first-authored or last-authored by board members of Retrovirology, we show here that the reverse is true when the future success of an article is to be predicted. The H index proved unsuitable for this specific task because, surprisingly, an article's odds of becoming a 'hit' appear independent of the pre-eminence of its author. We discuss implications for the peer-review process.
Hönekopp
Johannes
J
Northumbria University, Department of Psychology, Ellison Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK. johannes.honekopp@unn.ac.uk
Kleber
Janet
J
D000043:Abstracting and Indexing; D001319:Authorship; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D010380:Peer Review; D011642:Publications