Journal Impact Factor (IF) is a calculation of how many times the articles in a journal are cited by others.
Usually, higher IF is an indication of higher visibility of a journal to researchers in a field. It is also a rough indication of how the journal is considered within a field of research.
Some things to be aware of:
1. IF is a quantitative assessment and does not include qualitative information
2. Results vary among disciplines so it would be worthwhile to make comparisons within a particular discipline
3. The IF was created to assess a journal not an author. An author's work may have a larger impact beyond a specific journal.
Garfield's paper entitled The Agony and the Ecstasy - The History and Meaning of the Journal Impact Factor provides further insights into the orgin and use of the Impact Factor.
1.) The database, Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, provides the following info about a journal: peer reviewed or not, open access, publisher, when published (i.e. when publications started), etc.
2.) The “Accredited Journals List” on the UCT Libraries website provides info about the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) list of approved journals.
Journal Citation Reports – Online is a database used to locate a journal's impact factor.
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To use Journal Citation Reports, follow these steps:
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For more information about Journal Citation Reports - Online:
a) click on the Information for New Users located on the top right corner of the database home page
b) view the Journal Citation Reports tutorial created by Thomson ISI.
