How to Calculate Impact Factor

Scientific journals reach healthcare professionals and health-minded individuals alike. Some journals are more mainstream, while others cover a niche topic or small market of scientists, doctors, researchers and specific members of the general public. No matter what topic a journal covers, all can be subjected to an "impact factor" measurement. Impact factor, developed by the Thomson Institute for Scientific Information, measures the frequency by which an average article within a journal has been cited in a given period of time. Specifically, it's the "the average number of times published papers are cited up to two years after publication."

Instructions

• 1

  Gather the number of times articles were published between 2009 and 2010 and cited during 2011.

• 2

  Collect the number of total articles, reviews, proceedings or notes published between 2009 and 2010.

• 3

  Divide the number from Step 1 by the number from Step 2. This will give you an "impact factor" for the particular journal you're interested in.

• 4

  Use this calculated impact factor to make your initial decision on credible research resources, keeping in mind that it's not the only way to determine whether resources or journals are credible. This is just one way to determine a journal's ratio of citations to articles over a two-year period.

• 5

  Use other resources, such as researchers or physicians who rely heavily on research, or even teaching hospitals, to see what journals might be best for your particular interest. After compiling even a short list of journals, you can cross-reference that list in particular with a list of top-ranked "high impact" journals to find the best place to go for cutting-edge, peer-reviewed papers.