Grzybowski Andrzej
Department of History of Medicine, Karol Marcinkowski University Medical School, Poznań, Poland.
Med Sci Monit. 2009 Feb;15(2):SR1-4.
In 1955, Garfield suggested that the number of references could be used to measure the "impact" of a journal, but the term "impact factor" was introduced in 1963 by Garfield and Sher. The primary goal of impact factor analysis was to improve the management of library journal collections. Single-parameter measurements of the quality of a journal article have become increasingly popular as a substitute for scientific quality. The simplicity of its counting system and convenience of its use are significant benefits. Probably for these reasons, funding bodies, academic authorities, and some governments began using the impact factor to guide decisions about allocating grants, awarding appointments and academic degrees, and defining scientific policy. The journal impact factor, which is often recognized as a symbol of scientific prestige and relevance, can be, however, greatly influenced by the type of medical article (review vs original work), clinical specialty, and research. The true value and implications of the journal impact factor (JIF) are important to understand. It is critical to remember that JIF can be used only to evaluate journals. All comparisons should include only journals and never individuals or departments. Only similar journals (particularly those dedicated to the same scientific specialty) must be compared, because the value of the impact factor varies greatly by discipline.
1955年，加菲尔德提出参考文献数量可用于衡量期刊的“影响力”，但“影响因子”这一术语是1963年由加菲尔德和谢尔引入的。影响因子分析的主要目标是改善图书馆期刊馆藏的管理。将期刊文章质量的单参数测量作为科学质量的替代方法越来越流行。其计数系统的简单性和使用的便利性是显著优点。可能由于这些原因，资助机构、学术权威和一些政府开始使用影响因子来指导有关分配资助、授予职位和学位以及制定科学政策的决策。然而，期刊影响因子常被视为科学声望和相关性的象征，它可能会受到医学文章类型（综述与原创作品）、临床专业和研究的极大影响。理解期刊影响因子（JIF）的真正价值和含义很重要。必须记住，JIF只能用于评估期刊。所有比较都应仅包括期刊，绝不能涉及个人或部门。只能比较相似的期刊（特别是那些专注于同一科学专业的期刊），因为影响因子的值因学科而异。
