Rationale and Objectives
The aim of this study was to evaluate the trends in the impact factor (IF) of radiological journals over a recent 12-year period, including associations between IF and journal topic.
Materials and Methods
Journal Citation Reports (JCR) was used to identify all biomedical journals and all radiological journals (assigned a JCR category of “Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, & Medical Imaging”), along with journal IF, in 2003 and 2014. Radiological journals were manually classified by topic. Trends in median IF (mIF) were assessed.
Results
The number of radiological journals increased from 83 (2003) to 125 (2014) (all biomedical journals: 5907 to 8718, respectively). mIF of radiological journals increased from 1.42 (2003) to 1.75 (2014) (all biomedical journals: 0.93 to 1.46, respectively). The most common topic among new radiological journals was general (nonspecialized) radiology (8). Five new radiological journals in 2014 were in topics (cancer imaging and molecular imaging) having no journals in 2003. mIF of general radiological journals was 1.49. Topics having highest mIF were cardiac imaging (2.94), optics (2.86), molecular imaging (2.77), radiation oncology (2.60), and neuroradiology (2.25). Topics with lowest mIF were ultrasound (1.19) and interventional radiology (1.44). Topics with the largest increase in mIF were cardiac imaging (from 1.17 to 2.94) and neuroradiology (from 1.07 to 2.25).
Conclusions
Radiological journals exhibited higher mIF than biomedical journals overall. Among radiological journals, subspecialty journals had highest mIF. While a considerable number of new radiological journals since 2003 were general radiology journals having relatively low IF, there were also new journal topics representing emerging areas of subspecialized radiological research.
Introduction
One measure of the quality of biomedical journals is their influence on subsequent research. Such influence on future investigations can, in turn, be measured via the frequency of citations to articles published within the given journal . While numerous strategies exist for quantifying the frequency of citations to a journal’s articles, the most widely applied approach is the determination of the journal’s 2-year impact factor (IF) , originally developed in 1951 . Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation Reports (JCR) updates journals’ IFs on a yearly basis and makes this information publicly available though the online Web of Knowledge database . The IF is calculated as the number of citations occurring in a given year to the journal’s articles during the previous 2 years divided by the number of citable articles in the journal during the same preceding 2-year period .
The IF has been applied to evaluate the quality not only of journals, but also the academic productivity of individual investigators, departments, and institutions . Although such practice has been criticized , the IF nonetheless has been applied in making determinations regarding hiring, promotion, tenure, and awarding of grant funding . Moreover, the IF has been used as a basis for inferences regarding the overall influence of research within a given discipline .
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Methods
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Results
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Table 1
Distribution of Radiological Journals by Topic, Ranked in Order of Decreasing Median Impact Factor (IF) in 2014
Topic No. of journals (2014) No. of new journals since 2003 Min. IF (2014) Max. IF (2014) Median IF (2014) Median IF (2003)
7 3 1.81 7.19 2.94 1.17
3 2 1.11 3.65 2.86 3.54
3 3 1.96 2.92 2.77 \*
12 6 0.76 4.36 2.60 2.75
8 2 0.99 3.57 2.48 2.27
9 1 0.78 6.36 2.25 1.07
2 2 1.91 2.07 1.99 \*
12 2 0.99 6.16 1.86 1.92
16 8 0.31 2.96 1.61 1.91
9 1 1.09 3.85 1.51 0.93
26 8 0.00 6.87 1.49 1.34
6 3 0.50 3.65 1.46 1.16
3 1 0.08 2.41 1.44 1.27
9 3 0.62 4.92 1.19 1.33
IF, impact factor; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.
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Table 2
Characteristics of Individual Radiological Journals, Grouped by Journal Topic
Journal IF
(2014) IF
(2003) Issues
(2014) Citable items (2014) % Research articles (2014)
JACC—Cardiovascular Imaging 7.19 \* 12 89 100.0Circulation-Cardiovascular Imaging 5.32 \* 6 98 100.0Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 4.56 1.13 0 96 96.9Journal of Nuclear Cardiology 2.94 1.63 6 94 90.4Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography 2.29 \* 6 49 98.0Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology 2.07 1.21 6 207 90.8International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging 1.81 0.50 6 188 98.9
Biomedical Optics Express 3.65 \* 12 346 100.0Journal of Biomedical Optics 2.86 3.54 12 499 98.6Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences 1.11 \* 4 79 97.5
Contrast Media & Molecular Imaging 2.92 \* 6 44 86.4Molecular Imaging and Biology 2.77 \* 6 96 97.9Molecular Imaging 1.96 \* 6 42 100.0
Radiotherapy and Oncology 4.36 2.87 12 300 91.0International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 4.26 4.29 15 427 98.1Seminars in Radiation Oncology 4.03 3.60 4 37 100.0Strahlentherapie und Onkologie 2.91 2.63 12 147 98.6Brachytherapy 2.76 \* 4 92 98.9International Journal of Hyperthermia 2.65 1.76 8 70 91.4Radiation Oncology 2.55 \* 0 269 95.5Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals 1.78 1.84 10 61 96.7Cancer Radiotherapie 1.41 \* 6 116 81.0Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy 1.28 \* 4 57 79.0Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology 1.11 \* 6 100 93.0Medical Dosimetry 0.76 \* 4 63 98.4
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 3.57 3.31 12 426 99.5Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 3.21 2.69 12 363 96.7NMR in Biomedicine 3.04 3.33 12 164 93.3Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics Biology and Medicine 2.87 1.84 6 55 92.7Magnetic Resonance Imaging 2.09 1.42 10 180 99.4Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences 1.48 \* 4 39 97.4Concepts in Magnetic Resonance Part A 1.00 \\ 6 5 100.0Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinics of North America 0.99 \* 4 40 100.0
NeuroImage 6.36 6.19 20 1033 93.5Human Brain Mapping 5.97 6.06 12 454 96.9American Journal of Neuroradiology 3.59 2.63 12 378 90.5Neuroradiology 2.49 1.21 6 121 100.0Clinical Neuroradiology 2.25 \* 4 28 71.4Journal of Neuroradiology 1.75 0.60 5 36 91.7Journal of Neuroimaging 1.73 0.93 6 110 96.4Neuroimaging Clinics of North America 1.53 0.66 4 44 100.0Interventional Neuroradiology 0.78 0.51 4 69 95.7
Cancer Imaging 2.07 \* 0 29 79.3Radiology and Oncology 1.91 \* 4 56 89.3
Journal of Nuclear Medicine 6.16 4.90 12 308 99.7European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 5.38 3.32 12 232 92.7Clinical Nuclear Medicine 3.93 0.74 12 104 95.2Seminars in Nuclear Medicine 3.34 3.43 4 40 0.0Nuclear Medicine and Biology 2.41 2.00 8 110 100.0Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging__^ 2.03 2.22 4 28 28.6Annals of Nuclear Medicine 1.68 0.75 10 125 98.4Nuclear Medicine Communications 1.67 1.23 12 157 91.1Nuklearmedizin-Nuclear Medicine 1.49 1.85 6 46 93.5Applied Radiation and Isotopes 1.23 0.69 12 448 98.7Revista Espanola de Medicina Nuclear e Imagen Molecular 1.05 \* 0 56 98.2Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine 0.99 \* 3 35 82.9
Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Physik 2.96 \* 4 30 100.0Radiation Research 2.91 3.21 12 131 96.2Physics in Medicine and Biology 2.76 2.13 24 460 98.0Medical Physics 2.64 2.31 12 593 99.8Physica Medica-European Journal of Medical Physics 2.40 \* 4 135 94.1Journal of Radiation Research 1.80 1.70 6 145 95.9Journal of Radiological Protection 1.70 \* 4 70 95.7International Journal of Radiation Biology 1.69 2.17 12 145 96.6Radiation and Environmental Biophysics 1.53 1.13 4 72 93.1Health Physics 1.27 0.78 12 146 97.3Dose-Response 1.22 \* 4 36 100.0Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 1.17 \* 4 187 100.0Radiation Protection Dosimetry 0.91 0.62 20 365 100.0Radioprotection 0.54 \* 4 34 97.1Iranian Journal of Radiation Research 0.37 \* 4 0 Not Available_International Journal of Radiation Research_ 0.31 \* 4 52 98.1
Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology 3.85 1.97 12 186 95.7Journal of Thoracic Imaging 1.74 0.92 6 54 74.1Abdominal Imaging 1.63 1.00 6 132 94.7Pediatric Radiology 1.57 0.94 12 254 96.9Skeletal Radiology 1.51 0.82 12 229 88.2Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography 1.41 1.32 6 162 95.7Dentomaxillofacial Radiology 1.39 0.67 6 63 95.2Seminars in Ultrasound CT and MRI 1.20 0.85 6 46 100.0Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology 1.09 \* 5 44 100.0
Radiology 6.87 4.82 12 369 96.8Investigative Radiology 4.44 1.99 12 102 100.0European Radiology 4.01 1.97 12 377 98.7Journal of the American College of Radiology 2.84 \* 12 147 96.6American Journal of Roentgenology 2.73 2.47 12 494 76.7Radiographics 2.60 2.06 7 122 98.4European Journal of Radiology 2.37 1.06 12 347 93.4British Journal of Radiology 2.03 1.09 12 216 79.6Radiologic Clinics of North America 1.98 1.76 6 74 98.7Clinical Radiology 1.76 1.27 12 186 77.4Academic Radiology 1.75 1.41 12 188 97.3Acta Radiologica 1.60 1.10 12 157 96.2Korean Journal of Radiology 1.57 1.78 6 82 93.9Rofo-Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Rontgenstrahlen und der Bildgebenden Verfahren 1.40 1.79 12 90 84.4Radiologia Medica 1.34 \* 12 112 98.2BMC Medical Imaging 1.31 \* 0 40 97.5Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy 1.05 0.31 10 153 95.4Japanese Journal of Radiology 0.84 \* 10 103 93.2Clinical Imaging 0.81 0.66 6 177 86.4Current Medical Imaging Reviews 0.73 \* 4 32 90.6Seminars in Roentgenology 0.71 0.89 4 30 96.7Iranian Journal of Radiology 0.61 \* 4 50 100.0Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal-Journal De L Association Canadienne Des Radiologistes 0.52 0.38 4 47 100.0Radiologe 0.43 0.63 12 105 97.1JBR-BTR 0.24 \* 6 11 90.9Feuillets de Radiologie 0.00 \* 6 15 100.0
Medical Image Analysis 3.65 \* 8 102 100.0IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging 3.39 3.76 12 184 100.0International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery 1.71 \* 6 98 94.9Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics 1.22 1.16 6 77 100.0Journal of Digital Imaging 1.19 0.95 6 84 100.0Journal of Medical Imaging and Health Informatics 0.50 \* 4 132 99.2
Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2.41 2.21 12 234 97.0Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology 1.44 \* 6 78 82.1Journal de Radiologie Diagnostique et Interventionnelle__^^ 0.08 0.33 12 103 100.0
Ultraschall in der Medizin 4.92 1.47 6 58 93.1Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology 2.21 2.03 12 293 98.0Ultrasonics 1.94 0.78 7 258 99.2Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 1.54 1.19 12 247 96.4Ultrasound Quarterly 1.19 \* 4 32 96.9Medical Ultrasonography 1.11 \* 4 62 87.1Ultrasonic Imaging 0.91 1.58 4 17 100.0Journal of Clinical Ultrasound 0.69 0.75 9 120 98.3Journal of Medical Ultrasonics 0.62 \* 4 73 94.5
IF, impact factor; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.
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Discussion
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