<P> The impact factor ( IF ) or journal impact factor ( JIF ) of an academic journal is a measure reflecting the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal . It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field ; journals with higher impact factors are often deemed to be more important than those with lower ones . The impact factor was devised by Eugene Garfield , the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information . Impact factors are calculated yearly starting from 1975 for journals listed in the Journal Citation Reports . </P>
<P> The impact factor ( IF ) or journal impact factor ( JIF ) of an academic journal is a measure reflecting the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal . It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field ; journals with higher impact factors are often deemed to be more important than those with lower ones . The impact factor was devised by Eugene Garfield , the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information . Impact factors are calculated yearly starting from 1975 for journals listed in the Journal Citation Reports . </P>
what does the impact factor of a journal mean
what does the impact factor of a journal mean
a measure reflecting the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal
a measure reflecting the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal