That journal primarily contains meeting abstracts and its title has been changed to Journal of Investigative Medicine . The source of much anxiety about Journal Impact Factors comes from their misuse in evaluating individuals, e.g. during the Habilitation process. I have always warned against this use. There is wide variation from article to article within a single journal as has been widely documented by Per O. Seglen of Norway and others. These questions will be discussed in Oslo in April by myself and Dr. Seglen and then in May at the Conference of Biology Editors in Salt Lake City.
All editors are all welcome to attend.
For detailed information on over 8,000 journals, ISI s Journal Performance Indicators can be a valuable source of data for comparing journals. Long-term impact factors rather than current impact may be more appropriate in certain clinical fields. Citation data and analysis should always be used in combination with other indicators when evaluating departments or individuals. For nation by nation comparisons, there is very little controversy about the use of citation indicators. Further, they have been used in the USA to evaluate 5,000 departments at the leading universities.