A measure reflecting the average number of citations to recent articles published in an academic journal, used as an approximation of the relative importance of a journal within its field.
The phrase 'impact factor' is correct and usable in written English. It is usually used to refer to a measure of the relative importance of a scientific journal in its field. For example, "The impact factor of this journal has increased steadily over the past five years.".
This impact factor has become palpable during the euro crisis.
However, impact factor can also be illegitimately manipulated.
Do I look solely based on impact factor or do I focus on those with high impact factor that play the biggest part in the geography sub-panel?
In 'The impact factor game', the editors of peer-reviewed open access journal PLoS Medicine describe the negotiations determining their impact factor.
Their impact factor could have been anywhere from 4 to 11; an impact factor in the 30s is extremely high, while most journals are under 1.
So why has this impact factor become so established among today's scientists?
The panellists agreed that editors, as well as authors, felt the "terror of the impact factor".
Thanks to Ludwig my first paper got accepted! The editor wrote me that my manuscript was well-written
Listya Utami K.
PhD Student in Biology, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia