Journal impact factors are generally determined by formulas that divide the number of citations to articles in the journal by the total number of articles published by that journal in the preceding two years, with some variations. Impact factors are somewhat controversial in that they don't account for complicating factors or truly measure the quality of articles published in prestigious journals. That said, impact factors remain a common tool for determining the relative importance of journals in their fields.
The following databases offer different impact factors for scholarly journals:
Similar to a journal impact factor, an author's h-index is determined by how often their work is cited in other scholarly journals. Author h-index numbers can be found using Scopus, a specialized database.
Note: Scopus and Web of Science (see below) primarily track research in the physical and health sciences. Limited data is available for research in the social sciences and humanities.
To find your h-index in Scopus:
The Fulton Library has access to two databases that can track citations: Web of Science and Google Scholar. Both have pros and cons. Web of Science is at least partially designed to thoroughly document citations from article to article in the scholarly liteature. However, it is mostly limited to the physical and health sciences. Google Scholar has more reach in terms of the social sciences and humanities, but it might catch citations in non-scholarly content.
To use these databases to track citations, search using the title of your target article.
Peer reviewed. No full-text content. Statistical & research data.
This interdisciplinary database focuses on scientific and academic research. Provides bibliographic and citation information for journal articles.
Partially peer reviewed. Some full-text content. Open access.
Google Scholar offers sources across many disciplines and sources, like academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and websites. Results include articles, theses, books, abstracts, court opinions, and more.
