Issue: 39(3) August 2013. Essays Pages 64 – 65
R. Grant Steen
MediCC!, Medical Communications Consultants, LLC, USA; [email protected]
Abstract
The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) criticises Journal Impact Factor (JIF) without offering an alternative. It is true that JIF is flawed and can be misused but it also helps match manuscript to publication venue and identifies references likely to be authoritative. Above all, JIF helps librarians make difficult purchase decisions. JIF is a way to assess a journal, not an individual paper. If the DORA authors wish to abandon JIF, an appropriate alternative should be proposed.
