title: Revised h index for biomedical research.
abstract: Proposed by Hirsch as a quantitative measure of the total output of a researcher, the h index does not work well in the field of life sciences, where an author's position on a paper typically depends on the author's contribution. We revise the h index by weighing first and last authorship papers four times heavier than middle authorship papers. The revised index (r) signifies a shift in how we evaluate the research output in biology and medicine: it places more value on conducting and directing original, independent investigations as compared with contributing to projects conducted and directed by others.
authors.affiliation: Systemic Inflammation Laboratory (FeverLab), St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA. andrej.romanovsky@dignityhealth.org
authors.forename: Andrej A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Romanovsky
mesh_terms: D001319:Authorship / Q000592:standards; D035843:Biomedical Research; D011643:Publishing