Why do medical journals have such high impact factors?

Medical journals have high impact factors due to the sheer volume of research, the strong citation culture in medicine (especially from clinical to basic science), publishing review articles that get cited heavily, rapid knowledge turnover, and a large global audience of MDs and researchers actively seeking current info, all amplified by a focus on high-impact, easily citable topics and sometimes unethical citation practices.

What is a good impact factor for a medical journal?

In general, an impact factor of 10 or higher is considered remarkable, while 3 is good, and the average score is less than 1. 🍍 Who invented the impact factor? Eugene Garfield, the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), invented the measurement known as impact factor.

Which medical journal has the highest impact factor?

65 Highest Impact Factor Medical Journals

1. The Lancet, General Medicine And Clinical Research, Impact Score 172.30. ...
2. New England Journal Of Medicine (NEJM), General Medicine And Clinical Research, Impact Score 163.20. ...
3. Nature Medicine, Translational and clinical biomedical research, Impact score 91.10.

Is a higher impact factor better for journals?

The higher the impact factor, the more highly ranked the journal. It is one tool you can use to compare journals in a subject category. In 2024, the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) database tracked impact factors for 21,916 journals. The table shows the number of journals in each impact factor category.

Is 2.5 a high impact factor?

Yes, a 2.5 Impact Factor (IF) is generally considered a good score, especially in fields like social sciences or physical sciences, though "high impact" varies significantly by discipline; while STEM fields might see 10+ as high, 2-5 is often solid in social sciences, and a 2.5 means papers are cited 2.5 times on average in the past two years, making it respectable and above the overall average.
 

Understanding the essential concepts of medical journals and impact factors

Can impact factor be manipulated?

However, impact factors may be manipulated by editors. According to the ex- planatory statements and announcements made by the authors submitting their work to the journals, the impact factor is still being di- rectly manipulated [4–6].

What is Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 journal impact factor?

There are four quartiles: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4. Q1 is occupied by the top 25% of journals in the list; Q2 is occupied by journals in the 25 to 50% group; Q3 is occupied by journals in the 50 to 75% group and Q4 is occupied by journals in the 75 to 100% group. Q1 is occupied by the top 25% of journals in the list.

What is a "predatory" journal?

Predatory journals—also called fraudulent, deceptive, or pseudo-journals—are publications that claim to be legitimate scholarly journals, but misrepresent their publishing practices.

Is an impact score of 30 good?

Impact scores run from 10 to 90, where 10 is best. Generally speaking, impact/priority scores of 10 to 30 are most likely to be funded; scores between 31 and 45 might be funded; scores greater than 46 are rarely funded.

What is the most credible medical journal?

New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) – Established in 1812, NEJM is renowned for its significant contributions to global medicine. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association – A trusted source for peer-reviewed articles and editorial coverage across disciplines.

What are the big five medical journals?

The "Big Five" general medical journals, known for publishing high-impact research across specialties, are typically considered the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), The Lancet, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), The BMJ (British Medical Journal), and often either Annals of Internal Medicine or a leading science journal like Nature Medicine, depending on the specific criteria used, though NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, and BMJ are consistently cited as core.
 

Is Mdpi a high impact journal?

MDPI publishes some journals with high impact factors (IFs) and top quartiles (Q1/Q2), like Vaccines (IF 7.8) and Antioxidants (IF 7.0). However, the publisher is controversial, with concerns about varying quality, rapid processing, and past predatory accusations, meaning some journals are considered higher impact and reputable while others face criticism for lower standards, making it a mixed bag. 

Does impact factor really matter?

Why does it matter? The Impact Factor matters because it is a quick, quantifiable measure of a journal's influence within the academic community.

What is the impact factor of Nejm?

Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2024 impact factor was 78.5, ranking it 2nd out of 168 journals in the category "Medicine, General & Internal".

How much impact factor is considered high?

A good impact factor can vary by field, but in many scientific disciplines, an IF above 5 or 10 is often considered high.

Is Dove Medical Press predatory?

In 2022, a study re-analyzing the predatory publishers on Beall's list found that Dove Medical Press was among the "most reputable" of 18 publishers previously labelled as predatory, which could have marked a "transition into a reputable, open-access journal".

Is 2.5 a good impact factor for a journal?

Yes, an impact factor (IF) of 2.5 is generally considered good quality for a journal, placing it above average (most journals have IFs below 2), but not in the elite, top-tier range (which often starts at 5+ or 10+). It signifies decent visibility and citation frequency, but its "goodness" highly depends on the specific academic field, as citation patterns vary significantly between disciplines. 

Are Mdpi journals considered predatory?

These results showed that the MDPI journals under analysis fitted the definition of predatory journals, as their behaviour indicated that they prioritize self-interest, forsaking the best editorial and publication practices within the scope of self-citations and citations from other journals of the same editorial.

Why are journal impact factors problematic?

Journal Impact Factors are not normalized towards the field they are attributed to, which causes the absolute values of Journal Impact Factors to become actually incomparable (e.g., the Journal Impact Factors ranking on top in Journal Subject Categories in biomedicine tend to outscore Journal Impact Factors in the ...

What is the most cited paper in the world?

The most-cited paper in history is a paper by Oliver Lowry describing an assay to measure the concentration of proteins. By 2014 it had accumulated more than 305,000 citations. The 10 most cited papers all had more than 40,000 citations.

Who is the most cited person on Google Scholar?

The milestone makes machine-learning trailblazer Yoshua Bengio the most cited researcher on Google Scholar.

What is more important, quartile or impact factor?

The answer lies in a crucial distinction: Impact Factor is an absolute measure, while the Quartile is a relative ranking. The Journal Impact Factor (JIF): The JIF is a famous, though often debated, metric. It calculates the average number of citations received in a year by articles published in the two preceding years.

What does it mean for a journal to be Scopus indexed?

A Scopus journal is any academic journal indexed in the Scopus database. Being indexed means the journal has met strict quality criteria related to peer review, citation performance, editorial standards, and regularity.

How do journals calculate impact factors?

The Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the Journal Citation Reports year (the numerator) by the total number of citable items published in the two previous years (the denominator).