Sometimes the impact factor outshines the H index

Honekopp, Johannes and Kleber, Janet (2008) Sometimes the impact factor outshines the H index. Retrovirology, 5 (88). ISSN 1742-4690

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Abstract

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.

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