The Role of the Journal Impact Factor in Chemistry Research

Rosaria Ciriminna; Mario Pagliaro

doi:10.2533/chimia.2023.62

The Role of the Journal Impact Factor in Chemistry Research

Authors

Rosaria Ciriminna Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, CNR, Palermo, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6596-1572
Mario Pagliaro Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, CNR, Palermo, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5096-329X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2023.62

PMID:

38047855

Keywords:

Chemistry, Chemistry journals, Journal impact factor, Preprint, Scientific publishing

Abstract

The journal impact factor (JIF) is a skewed metrics whose value is dictated by just a few highly cited articles. Therefore, the use of the JIF to evaluate journals, scholars, or research institutes is flawed. Still, the JIF continues to play a central role in evaluating scholarship in chemistry, the most reluctant amid scientific disciplines to embrace the principles of open science. This study investigates the origins of this social behavior, and suggests avenues to improve scholarly communication in the chemical sciences following the example of the life sciences.