Should the Eigenfactor Replace the Impact Factor?

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the global acceptance of the impact factor (IF) by researchers and academic institutions as one, criticism has been voiced regarding its effectiveness in evaluating the unbiased impact of a journal. To overcome the limitations and drawbacks of the IF that were presented by the scientific community, they introduced several other citation-based bibliometric indices.MethodsAll plastic and reconstructive surgery journals were analyzed, and bibliometric indices were extracted from the relevant source. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine correlations between the various indices.ResultsAll correlations in between the various bibliometric indices were found to be positively and statistically significant, ranging from moderately highly associated for the IF and Eigenfactor (r= 0.632) to very strongly associated (r= 0.962) for the IF and the Article Influence Score.ConclusionIn the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery, the Eigenfactor and its derivative, the Article Influence Score, could potentially serve as better indices than the IF in demonstrating the overall picture. This information is based on the inclusion of a greater number of journals in the calculation and subtraction of self-citations, without compromising their correlation with other indices.The use of Eigenfactor and other additional bibliometrics cooperatively with the IF could provide the most extensive evaluation of a journal's scientific impact.