Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations
We analyzed how often and in what ways the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is currently used in review, promotion, and tenure (RPT) documents of a representative sample of universities from the United States and Canada. 40% of research-intensive institutions and 18% of master’s institutions mentioned th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2019-07-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/47338 |
| _version_ | 1811252993106903040 |
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| author | Erin C McKiernan Lesley A Schimanski Carol Muñoz Nieves Lisa Matthias Meredith T Niles Juan P Alperin |
| author_facet | Erin C McKiernan Lesley A Schimanski Carol Muñoz Nieves Lisa Matthias Meredith T Niles Juan P Alperin |
| author_sort | Erin C McKiernan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We analyzed how often and in what ways the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is currently used in review, promotion, and tenure (RPT) documents of a representative sample of universities from the United States and Canada. 40% of research-intensive institutions and 18% of master’s institutions mentioned the JIF, or closely related terms. Of the institutions that mentioned the JIF, 87% supported its use in at least one of their RPT documents, 13% expressed caution about its use, and none heavily criticized it or prohibited its use. Furthermore, 63% of institutions that mentioned the JIF associated the metric with quality, 40% with impact, importance, or significance, and 20% with prestige, reputation, or status. We conclude that use of the JIF is encouraged in RPT evaluations, especially at research-intensive universities, and that there is work to be done to avoid the potential misuse of metrics like the JIF. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:43:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-280ae1471f8b4a169addf4045882af42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:43:03Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-280ae1471f8b4a169addf4045882af422022-12-22T03:24:40ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2019-07-01810.7554/eLife.47338Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluationsErin C McKiernan0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9430-5221Lesley A Schimanski1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4664-179XCarol Muñoz Nieves2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8857-3000Lisa Matthias3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2612-2132Meredith T Niles4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8323-1351Juan P Alperin5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9344-7439Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, MexicoScholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, CanadaScholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, CanadaJohn F Kennedy Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, United StatesScholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada; School of Publishing, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, CanadaWe analyzed how often and in what ways the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is currently used in review, promotion, and tenure (RPT) documents of a representative sample of universities from the United States and Canada. 40% of research-intensive institutions and 18% of master’s institutions mentioned the JIF, or closely related terms. Of the institutions that mentioned the JIF, 87% supported its use in at least one of their RPT documents, 13% expressed caution about its use, and none heavily criticized it or prohibited its use. Furthermore, 63% of institutions that mentioned the JIF associated the metric with quality, 40% with impact, importance, or significance, and 20% with prestige, reputation, or status. We conclude that use of the JIF is encouraged in RPT evaluations, especially at research-intensive universities, and that there is work to be done to avoid the potential misuse of metrics like the JIF.https://elifesciences.org/articles/47338scholarly communicationsacademic careersimpact factorhigher educationinstitutional policy |
| spellingShingle | Erin C McKiernan Lesley A Schimanski Carol Muñoz Nieves Lisa Matthias Meredith T Niles Juan P Alperin Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations eLife scholarly communications academic careers impact factor higher education institutional policy |
| title | Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations |
| title_full | Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations |
| title_fullStr | Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations |
| title_short | Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations |
| title_sort | use of the journal impact factor in academic review promotion and tenure evaluations |
| topic | scholarly communications academic careers impact factor higher education institutional policy |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/47338 |
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