Metze K. Bureaucrats, researchers, editors, and the impact factor - a vicious circle that is detrimental to science. Clinics 2010;65(10):937-940
(doi:10.1590/S1807-59322010001000002)
The article aims at illustrating the weakness of the impact factor as a measure of science and at showing its negative impact on science. The popularization of impact factor as a rapid and cheap method for evaluation of researchers or research groups has stimulated a dynamic interaction between bureaucrats, researchers, and editors. It has created a vicious circle where the measurement process strongly influences the measured variable. Examples are presented to demonstrate the increasing pressure to manipulate the impact factors, as excessive self-citations.
(doi:10.1590/S1807-59322010001000002)
The article aims at illustrating the weakness of the impact factor as a measure of science and at showing its negative impact on science. The popularization of impact factor as a rapid and cheap method for evaluation of researchers or research groups has stimulated a dynamic interaction between bureaucrats, researchers, and editors. It has created a vicious circle where the measurement process strongly influences the measured variable. Examples are presented to demonstrate the increasing pressure to manipulate the impact factors, as excessive self-citations.
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