1. T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Marian Hollingsworth Manager, Publisher Relations July 18, 2007 Using Metrics to Improve your Journal Veterinary Journal Editors Meeting, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

2. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 2 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Journal Citation Reports © and the Impact Factor Journal Selection Process Successful evaluation: appropriate subject categories & products assigned Inclusion in Journal Citation Reports © (JCR) Impact Factor & ranking in subject category

3. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 3 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Journal Selection Process Select most important, internationally influential publications for Thomson Scientific database Over 2,000 journals evaluated yearly 10-12% of journals are selected http://scientific.thomson.com/free/essays/selectionofmaterial/journalsel ection/http://scientific.thomson.com/free/essays/selectionofmaterial/journalsel ection/

4. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 4 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Factors Considered Basic Journal Publishing Standards Editorial Content International Diversity Citation Data Analysis Self-Citation Rate

5. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 5 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Journal Publishing Standards Timeliness of publication International editorial conventions English language bibliographic information Peer review system Grant supported research Print or e-only journals

6. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 6 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Will the journal add value to products? Does the subject category need enhancement? Does the journal offer a different perspective or focus than current coverage? Editorial Content

7. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 7 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C International Diversity Authors, editors, editorial advisory board members? Does journal reflect the global context in which scientific research takes place? If a regional journal, how does it compare with other journals from the same area? Is the country well or under-represented?

8. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 8 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Citation Data Analysis Capture all cited references to – articles in indexed journals – articles in non-indexed journals Established journals: overall citation rate, impact factor, immediacy index New journals: authors and editorial board members citation history Citation rates vary by discipline –Life Sciences: rapid citation growth –Arts& Humanities: slow citation growth

9. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 9 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Self-citation Rate Self-cited rate may reflect the subject field High self-citation may mean the field is small Multidisciplinary journals tend to have low self-cites 80% of journals in JCR Science Edition have self-citation rates of <20% Excessive self-citation may result in suspension or deselection

10. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 10 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Journal Accepted for indexing! Subject category or categories are determined –Scope of journal and categories compared –Cited and citing journals Thomson Scientific products are assigned, for example: –Science Citation Index Expanded –Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences –Focus On: Veterinary Science & Medicine,…..etc… Document Types assigned to items in journal

11. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 11 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Subject Category Scope Notes of Interest Veterinary Sciences Veterinary Sciences covers resources concerning both the research and clinical aspects of animal health, diseases, injuries, nutrition, reproduction, and public health. This category includes materials on companion, farm, zoo, laboratory, wild, and aquatic animals. Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science covers resources on the selection, breeding and management of livestock, including animal science, animal nutrition, poultry science, animal breeding and genetics, dairy science, and animal production science.

12. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 12 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Zoology Zoology covers resources concerning a broad range of topics on the study of animals. This category ranges from animal behavior and animal physiology to some aspects of animal ecology. The category does not include veterinary medicine, ornithology, or most aspects of entomology. Marine & Freshwater Biology Marine & Freshwater Biology covers resources concerning many aquatic sciences, including marine ecology and environmental research, aquatic biology, marine pollution and toxicology, aquatic botany and plant management, estuarine and coastal research, diseases of aquatic organisms, molluscan and shellfish research, fish biology and biofouling.

13. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 13 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C JCR Performance Metrics Impact Factor: Average number of times recent articles in a journal were cited in a particular year Immediacy Index: Measures how quickly the average article in a journal is cited Cited Half-Life: Benchmarks the age of cited articles; useful in collection development

14. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 14 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C 20062005 2004 Source paper – published in 2006 Cited reference – published in 2005 or 2004 Citations 2006 Impact Factor All Previous Years 2003 2007 Impact Factor = Cites in 2006 to 2005 or 2004 items Papers published in 2005 or 2004 Time

15. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 15 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C 2006 2005 2004 Immediacy Index All Previous Years 2007 Time Source paper – published in 2006 Citations Cited reference – published in 2006

16. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 16 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C 2006 2005 2004 Cited ½ Life All Previous Years 2007 Time Source paper – published in 2006 Citations Cited reference – published in 2003 or previous years

17. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 17 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Medical and Veterinary Entomology

18. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 18 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Medical and Veterinary Entomology

19. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 19 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Medical and Veterinary Entomology: 2006 IF of 2.033 Rank: 5 of 128 in Veterinary Science 6 of 69 in Entomology Impact Factor in Context: Category

20. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 20 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Top 10 Veterinary Science Journals by Impact Factor 2006 Journal Citation Reports

21. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 21 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Top 10 Entomology Journals by Impact Factor 2006 Journal Citation Reports

22. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 22 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C What an Impact Factor IS: A journal level metric: normalizes citation count by the amount of scholarly citable content What an Impact Factor is NOT: A metric of the quality of an individual’s, department’s, or institution’s scientific contribution An article level metric. Individual article citation counts vary greatly even within a single volume and year

23. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 23 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C What gets counted in the IF? Citable Items: Original research articles Review articles Technical notes Special issues/supplements: evaluated on a case-by-case basis; articles will count

24. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 24 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Characteristics of Citable Items Descriptive article title Named author with address information Abstract Article length Cited references Data content

25. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 25 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C What’s not counted? Editorials Discussions Commentaries Meeting abstracts Book reviews News items Letters typically not counted unless they function as “articles”

26. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 26 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C How to improve the journal’s Impact Factor? Clear instructions on how to cite the journal Title variants are unified in Thomson Scientific database Journal title and year required for IF Effect of adding new sections to a currently indexed journal Supplements and special issues

27. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 27 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C More things to consider…. Frequency of publication and missing issues Title changes: –First year: New title with immediacy index, superseded title with normal impact factor –Second year: New and superseded titles listed with impact factors –Third year: Only new title is listed Attract and publish the best papers

28. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 28 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Article Level Metrics “Times Cited” increments dynamically as articles are indexed Citation accuracy is key: journal title, author name, volume, page or article #, and year Able to identify highly cited articles and authors

29. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 29 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Top authors in Veterinary Dermatology

30. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 30 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Top authors: Veterinary Dermatology

31. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 31 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C

32. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 32 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Top Cited Articles in Veterinary Dermatology

33. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 33 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Thomson Resources Available ISI Highly Cited Freely accessible Web site identifies researchers, departments, laboratories that made significant contributions to science and technology http://isihighlycited.com/

34. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 34 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C For potential author mailing lists: Scientific Direct™ is an effective marketing solution that provides targeted, custom-prepared lists of qualified prospects in all areas of science, technology, & social sciences. Searches the database by keywords, subject, contributing authors to journals, cited journals, and cited authors Other Thomson Resources

35. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 35 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C TS Research Services Group Provides customized datasets for citation analysis based on your variables: author, papers, periods, affiliation, subject category, citing references, etc. Types of analysis that you can do: Identify which papers contribute to a journal’s Impact Factor Compare Citation Impact (avg. cites per paper) of a journal or group of journals for periods up to 24 years. Identify highly cited authors, papers, or institutions Analyze impact of special issues and supplements

36. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 36 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Key Points Good journal content Accurate citations to the journal Timely receipt of journal issues Impact Factor meaningful only when used to compare journals within a discipline

37. Copyright 2007 Thomson Corporation 37 T H O M S O N S C I E N T I F I C Marian.Hollingsworth@thomson.com 215-823-1761 Thanks for your attention!