Being the Ghost in the Machine: A Medical Ghostwriter's Personal View

Linda Logdberg, a medical ghostwriter for 11 years, provides a personal view of her former work and what she believes should be done about the problem of fraud in authorship

Bias in the journal impact factor

The ISI journal impact factor (JIF) is based on a sample that may represent half the whole-of-life citations to some journals, but a small fraction (<10%) of the citations accruing to other journals. This disproportionate sampling means that the JIF provides a misleading indication of the true impact of journals, biased in favour of journals that have a rapid rather than a prolonged impact. Many journals exhibit a consistent pattern of citation accrual from year to year, so it may be possible to adjust the JIF to provide a more reliable indication of a journal's impact.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures; one reference correcte

Environments for nursing scholarship and journal impact factor in five countries

KETEFIAN S., DAI Y.-T., HANUCHARURNKUL S., MENDES I.A.C. & NORMAN I.J. (2010) Environments for nursing scholarship and journal impact factor in five countries. International Nursing Review 57 , 343–351Universities worldwide are seeking objective measures for the assessment of their faculties' research products to evaluate them and to attain prestige. Despite concerns, the impact factors (IF) of journals where faculties publish have been adopted.The study aims to explore conditions created within five countries as a result of policies requiring or not requiring faculty to publish in high IF journals, and the extent to which these facilitated or hindered the development of nursing science.The design was a multiple case study of Brazil, Taiwan, Thailand (with IF policies, Group A), United Kingdom and the United States (no IF policies, Group B). Key informants from each country were identified to assist in subject recruitment.A questionnaire was developed for data collection. The study was approved by a human subject review committee. Five faculty members of senior rank from each country participated. All communication occurred electronically.Groups A and B countries differed on who used the policy and the purposes for which it was used. There were both similarities and differences across the five countries with respect to hurdles, scholar behaviour, publishing locally vs. internationally, views of their science, steps taken to internationalize their journals.In group A countries, Taiwan seemed most successful in developing its scholarship. Group B countries have continued their scientific progress without such policies. IF policies were not necessary motivators of scholarship; factors such as qualified nurse scientists, the resource base in the country, may be critical factors in supporting science development.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79385/1/j.1466-7657.2010.00819.x.pd

Environment for nursing scholarship and journal impact factors in Taiwan

Universities are seeking objective measures to assess their faculty members' research output in order to improve their national and international standing. Despite concerns, many have adopted the impact factor of journals for this purpose. The objective of this study was to explore the conditions that have been created within Taiwan as a result of such national and institutional policies. A case study design was used. Information was sought from five senior faculty members, who responded to a questionnaire with items derived from the literature. A key participant provided context within the country. The data were summarized and described. The respondents confirmed the presence of governmental and university policies for publication in high-impact factor journals; they saw some positive aspects, yet described the obstacles faced by many scholars, felt that the policies led to competition rather than cooperation, and viewed national, compared to international, publications in opposing terms. The findings are discussed within the context of current nursing literature. It is recommended that, where impact factors are used, they not be the only quality measure. A larger and more representative study is also recommended.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79260/1/j.1442-2018.2010.00519.x.pd

On the robustness of the h-index

The h-index (Hirsch, 2005) is robust, remaining relatively unaffected by errors in the long tails of the citations-rank distribution, such as typographic errors that short-change frequently-cited papers and create bogus additional records. This robustness, and the ease with which h-indices can be verified, support the use of a Hirsch-type index over alternatives such as the journal impact factor. These merits of the h-index apply to both individuals and to journals.Comment: 10 pages, 4 tables, 1 figur

An examination of the reliability of prestigious scholarly journals: evidence and implications for decision-makers

In universities all over the world, hiring and promotion committees regularly hear the argument: “this is important work because it is about to appear in prestigious journal X”. Moreover, those who allocate levels of research funding, such as in the multi-billion pound Research Assessment Exercise in UK universities, often come under pressure to assess research quality in a mechanical way by using journal prestige ratings. This paper’s results suggest that such tendencies are dangerous. It uses total citations over a quarter of a century as the criterion. The paper finds that it is far better to publish the best article in an issue of a medium-quality journal like the Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics than to publish the worst article (or often the worst 4 articles) in an issue of a top journal like the American Economic Review. Implications are discussed

A system for success: BMC Systems Biology, a new open access journal

BMC Systems Biology is the first open access journal spanning the growing field of systems biology from molecules up to ecosystems. The journal has launched as more and more institutes are founded that are similarly dedicated to this new approach. BMC Systems Biology builds on the ongoing success of the BMC series, providing a venue for all sound research in the systems-level analysis of biology