ISI Journal Impact Factors and Allen (CINAHL) Ratings for

Faculty of Nursing Publications 2003-2008

A Report Prepared by the Manitoba Centre for Nursing and Health Research (MCNHR)

October, 2008

MCNHR Contributors:

James Plohman, MSc, Research Technician Diane Cepanec, MA, Research Associate

Maureen Heaman, RN, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Research

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Information on Journal Impact Factors When authors are deciding where to publish research articles, they aim to identify a journal that matches the subject area of their paper. But, most importantly, they also want to publish in a journal that has a strong reputation and popularity. This ensures their article is read by the maximum number of people and communicates to the reader the importance of the article. A journal impact factor is one measure used in determining a journal’s quality. This report explains measures used in assessing journal quality including the impact factor, immediacy index, cited half-life, and Allen (CINAHL) rating. The publication history of Faculty of Nursing members from 2003 to 2008 is then discussed in relation to the number of papers they have published in journals having ISI Journal Impact factors and Allen (CINAHL) ratings. What are Journal Impact Factors? The journal impact factor is a measure of the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year. According to Care and Degner (2005), impact factors “give an indication of citation rates for articles published in any particular journal. The higher the impact factor, the more likely an article published in that journal is to be cited. Citations give us an idea of to what extent the knowledge we are publishing is actually ‘driving’ the field.” Authors need to consider impact factors when selecting journals for publication of their work. Impact factors are increasingly playing a role in hiring, tenure decisions, and the awarding of research grants. ISI Journal Impact Factors The ISI Web of Knowledge offers a collection of research databases including Web of Science, Web Citation Index and Journal Citation Reports. ( http://isiknowledge.com.) Journal Impact Factors are found in Journal Citation Reports from ISI. Journal Citation Reports are a comprehensive resource that allows you to evaluate and compare journals using citation data drawn from over 7,500 scholarly and technical journals from more than 3,300 publishers in over 60 countries. It is available in Science and Social Sciences editions. The database is growing every year (Figure 1 & 2) with 6417 journals listed in the 2007 Science edition and 1865 in the 2007 Social Sciences edition. It includes virtually all areas of science, technology, and social sciences. The database can quickly show you the most frequently cited, highest impact and largest journals in a field.

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Figure 1 – The number of journals contained within the Journal Citation Reports Science Edition database from 2002 to 2007.

Figure 2 – The number of journals contained within the Journal Citation Reports Social Sciences Edition database from 2002 to 2007.

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Journal Citation Reports The Journal Citation Reports (JCR) reports contain 3 key variables used to judge the quality of a journal. They are the impact factor, immediacy index, and cited half-life. The journal impact factor is the average number of times articles in a journal published in the past two years have been cited in the JCR year. The immediacy index is the number of citations the articles in a journal receive in a given year per divided by the number of articles published in the journal that year. The cited half-life is the median age of the articles that were cited in Journal Citation Reports each year. The reports also list other information about the journals such as the ID number or ISSN, the number of citations the journal has received, as well as the number of articles published in the journal during the reporting year. How is the impact rating calculated?

The impact factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years. An impact factor of 1.0 means that, on average, the articles published one or two years ago have been cited one time. An impact factor of 2.5 means that, on average, the articles published one or two years ago have been cited two and a half times.

To calculate the impact factor for journal x in 2007, ISI examines the 7,500 journals in its index to find the number of citations to x’s articles that were published in the previous two years (2005 & 2006). That number becomes the numerator. The denominator is the number of original research articles and reviews published by x in the previous two years (2005 & 2006).

The three highest rated journals in JCR Science Edition (2007) are:

- CA - A CANCER JOURNAL FOR CLINICIANS (69.026)

- NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE (52.589)

- ANNUAL REVIEW OF IMMUNOLOGY (47.981).

Online tool to determine ISI impact factor rating

1. To determine impact factors for journals, go to the University of Manitoba website at www.umanitoba.ca . Under “The University” menu select “Libraries”. Then on the left hand side menu select “E-Library”. Click on “Title A-Z” and then on “W”. Then click on “Web of Science”. 1a. You will be asked to enter your library ID and pin number in order to access the database. 2. Under "Additional Resources" click "Journal Citation Reports"

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3. Under "Select an Option", leave it at the default setting ["JCR Science Edition 2007" "View a group of journals by Subject Category"]. You can also choose to search for a specific journal –the search engine may need the journal title in capital letters in order to recognize it. 4. Click SUBMIT 5. Under “Select one or more categories from the list”, scroll to NURSING and select; again click SUBMIT You will then see a list of nursing journal titles and associated statistics like impact factor, immediacy index and cited half-life (See Appendix A for full list). Nursing journals with ISI Journal Impact Factor Ratings

There are 46 journals that appear when doing a search using the subject category “nursing” in the JCR Science Edition. The database currently lists 21 nursing journals with an impact factor rating of 1 or greater. The five highest rated nursing journals are:

- BIRTH – ISSUES IN PERINATAL CARE (2.217)

- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING STUDIES (2.115)

- NURSING RESEARCH (1.748)

- JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING (1.442)

- ONCOLOGY NURSING FORUM (1.438).

Allen (CINAHL) Rating System The Allen (CINAHL) Rating System for nursing journals is another method used to evaluate the quality of journals. This system was developed by Margaret Allen, a library/information consultant who has a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (Allen, 2007). It scores journals out of a maximum of 10 points with 10 assigned to the best journals. Journals are judged on three criteria: Content, Reputation, and Frequency of Citations. Content is assigned a maximum of 4 points based on the percentage of articles in the journal that are research articles. Reputation is scored out of a maximum of 2 points assigned for the appearance of a journal in key nursing journal lists (Canadian Nursing Association’s list, Brandon List for Nursing). The frequency of citations is scored out of 4 points with the maximum score given to journals appearing in the list of the top 80 most cited journals. The total scores in all three categories are added together to produce the total rating score reported.

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Inspiration for the Allen (CINAHL) rating chart came from a series of articles reporting on the publishing practices of nursing journals (McCloskey, 1977; McCloskey & Swanson, 1982; Swanson & McCloskey, 1986; Swanson, McCloskey, & Bodensteiner, 1991). Ms. Allen wanted to help nurse authors choose appropriate journals and to increase the quality of manuscripts submitted for publication. The first article in her series reported the results of a survey of 65 US and foreign nursing journals in 1977. The second survey of 100 publications included US nursing and health care journals but only two foreign nursing journals in 1982. The third survey on 130 journals included US and foreign nursing journals and US health care journals in 1986. The 1991 survey was limited to US nursing journals because of the increasing numbers and the difficulty in obtaining information on health care and foreign journals. The 2006 edition of the Allen (CINAHL) Rating System is based on information gathered from 2003-2005. Ms. Allen has decided not to produce further updates to the list. NAHRS, the Nursing and Allied Health Section of the Medical Library Association, will be working on new journal lists this coming year with the first edition expected to be published sometime after May, 2009 (email communication). The current full list includes 257 key print and electronic nursing journals (See Appendix B). The journals are rated on a scale from 0 to 10, and the journals rated “10” are as follows: - AORN JOURNAL;

- CANCER NURSING; - HEART & LUNG; - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING STUDIES; - JOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC, AND NEONATAL NURSING; - JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING; - JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING; - JOURNAL OF NURSING ADMINISTRATION; - JOURNAL OF NURSING EDUCATION; - JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP; - NURSING 2006; - NURSING RESEARCH; - NURSING TIMES; - ONCOLOGY NURSING FORUM; - PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING; - RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH; - WESTERN JOURNAL OF NURSING RESEARCH

See Appendix B for the full Allen (CINAHL) rating list.

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Analysis of Faculty of Nursing Publications This report examines the distribution of publications from members of the Faculty of Nursing in ISI and Allen CINAHL rated journals from 2003-04 to 2007-08. A similar report was produced in April, 2007 on the data from 2003/04 to 2005/06. This report builds upon the data from the previous report adding publications from the 2006/07 and 2007/08 reporting years. Data for this project included refereed publications listed in the Faculty of Nursing Annual Reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008. “In-press” and “submitted” publications were not included. The ISI journal impact factors reported in the JCR Science and Social Sciences Editions 2007, were applied to the 2006/07 and 2007/08 publication analysis. For the 2003/04 to 2005/06 publication years the ISI journal impact factors as of April, 2007 were used. The 2006 Allen (CINAHL) rating system (Allen, 2007) scores were applied to faculty publications from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008.

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Findings Figure 3 – The total number of publications by faculty members in refereed journals, 2003/04 to 2007/08.

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008

• The total number of refereed publications produced by Faculty members increased from 43 in 2003/04 to 61 in 2004/05, but decreased to 48 in 2005/06 and has remained relatively stable since then.

• The percentage of faculty publications in ISI and / or CINAHL rated journals

decreased from 72% in 2003/04 to 62% in 2004/05.

• In 2005/06 and 2006/07, the percentage of publications in ISI and / or CINAHL rated journals was similar at 87.5% and 88% respectively. This percentage decreased to 77% in 2007/08.

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Figure 4 – The number of Faculty of Nursing member publications in refereed journals divided into ISI rated first authored publications, ISI rated co-authored publications and those published in non-ISI rated journals.

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008) ** 2004/05 total was influenced by a high number of publications from an adjunct professor, Dr. Jeff Sloan who published 18 papers that year. He was not an adjunct professor of the Faculty of Nursing in any other year.

• The percentage of publications that were published in ISI rated journals was 28% in 2003/2004 and increased to 41% and 66% in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 respectively.

• Since 2006, the percentage of publications published in ISI rated journals decreased to 52% in 2006/07 and 32% in 2007/2008.

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**

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Figure 5 – The number of Faculty of Nursing member publications in refereed journals divided into Allen CINAHL rated first authored publications, Allen (CINAHL) rated co-authored publications and those published in non Allen (CINAHL) rated journals.

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008. • The percentage of articles published in Allen (CINAHL) rated journals decreased from

49% in 2003/04 to 31% in 2004/05 before increasing to 50% and 70% in 2005/06 and 2006/07 respectively.

• The percentage of articles published in Allen (CINAHL) rated journals decreased in

2007/08 to 62%.

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Figure 6 – The distribution of faculty publications in refereed journals having varying ISI impact factor ratings (points).

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008. For analysis of the 2003/04 to 2005/06 publication years the ISI impact factors as of April, 2007 were used. ISI journal rankings as of September, 2008 were used for the 2006/07 and 2007/08 publication analysis. • The total number of publications in journals having an ISI rating of 0 to 1.0 increased

from 2003/04 to 2005/06 before decreasing to 7 and 4 in 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively.

• The total number of publications in journals having an ISI rating of 1.01 to 2.0 trended higher over the last 5 years with 3 in 2003/04, 5 in both 2004/05 and 2005/06 increasing to 9 in 2006/07 and 10 in 2007/08. Most of the most highly rated nursing journals have impact factor ratings in this category.

• The total number of publications in journals having an ISI rating greater than 2.0

followed the same trend as those in the 0 to 1.0 category increasing in number from 2003/04 to 2005/06 before decreasing in each of the last two years (10 in 2006/07 and 3 in 2007/08)

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Figure 7 - The distribution of faculty publications in journals with ISI impact factor ratings grouped from 0-1, 1.1 to 2.0 and > 2.0 points.

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008. For analysis of the 2003/04 to 2005/06 publication years the ISI impact factors as of April, 2007 were used. ISI journal rankings as of September, 2008 were used for the 2006/07 and 2007/08 publication analysis. • The percentage of publications in journals having an ISI rating of 0 to 1.0 decreased

from 2003/04 to 2004/05 before increasing to 38% in 2005/06. In 2006/07 the percentage of publications appearing in low-rated journals decreased to 27 and 24% in 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively.

• The percentage of publications in journals having an ISI rating of 1.01 to 2.0 decreased from 27% in 2004/05, 20% in 2005/06 and 16% in 2006/07 before increasing to 35% in 2006/07 and 59% in 2007/08. This trend is important as most of the highest rated nursing journals fall in this category.

• The percentage of publications in journals having an ISI rating greater than 2.0 increased from 27% in 2003/04 to 56% in 2004/05 before decreasing to 47%, 39% and 18% in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively.

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Figure 8 – The distribution of Faculty of Nursing refereed publications published in journals having varying Allen (CINAHL) impact factor ratings (points).

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008). The 2006 Allen (CINAHL) rating was used (Allen, 2006).

• The total number of faculty publications in journals having an Allen (CINAHL) rating of 0 to 2 was 6 and 8 in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively, decreasing to 4 in 2005/06 and 2 in 2006/07 before increasing to 5 in 2007/08.

• The number of faculty publications in journals having an Allen (CINAHL) rating

score of 3-6 decreased from 7 to 3 in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively before increasing to 6 in 2005/06 and 13 in both 2006/07 and 2007/08.

• The number of faculty publications in journals given a rating of 7-10 decreased from 9 to 8 in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively before increasing to 14 in 2005/06 and increasing again to 20 in 2006/07. In 2007/08 the number of publications published in journals given a rating of 7-10 decreased to 15.

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Figure 9 – The distribution of Faculty of Nursing refereed publications published in journals having varying Allen (CINAHL) impact factor ratings (points).

*Data extracted from Faculty of Nursing annual reports from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008. The 2006 Allen (CINAHL) rating was used (Allen, 2006).

• The percentage of faculty publications in journals having an Allen (CINAHL) rating of 0 to 2 was 21% and 42% in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively, decreasing to 17% in 2005/06 and 6% in 2006/07 before increasing to 15% in 2007/08.

• The percentage of faculty publications in journals having an Allen (CINAHL)

rating score of 3-6 decreased from 32% to 16% in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively before increasing to 25 in 2005/06 and 37 and 39% in 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively.

• The percentage of faculty publications in journals given a rating of 7-10 decreased from 47% to 42% in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively, before increasing to 58% in 2005/06 and 57% in 2006/07. In 2007/08 the percentage decreased to 46%.

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Summary Faculty of Nursing members produced 39 to 61 refereed publications per year from 2003/04 to 2007/08, with the numbers trending gradually higher over that time period. These publications were assessed using the ISI impact factor and Allen CINAHL rating systems to determine the quality of the journals in which these papers were published. The proportion of faculty publications in ISI rated journals peaked in 2005/06 before decreasing in 2006/07 and 2007/08. This trend did not occur when faculty publications were assessed using the Allen (CINAHL) rating system. Using this system, the proportion of publications in Allen (CINAHL) rated journals generally increased from 2003//04 to 2007/08. As the future of the Allen (CINAHL) rating system is uncertain, and it is not updated on a yearly basis, it is not as relevant a rating system as the ISI Impact Factor. The ISI Impact Factor rating system is growing in popularity with increasing numbers of journals applying for an ISI Impact Factor rating. It will likely continue to grow, making it the most widely used tool to rate scholarly and professional journals, and will probably be used as the predominant rating system used by authors in making their publishing decisions. References Allen, P. (2006). Information on the 2006 CINAHL ranking system. [Email

communication]. McCloskey, J.C. (1977). Publishing opportunities for nurses: a comparison of 65

journals. Nurse Educator, 2(4), 4-13. McCloskey, J.C., & Swanson, E. (1982). Publishing opportunities for nurses: a

comparison of 100 journals. Image (IN), 14(2), 50-56. Swanson, E., & McCloskey, J.C. (1986). Publishing opportunities for nurses. Nursing

Outlook, 34(5), 227-235. Swanson, E.A., McCloskey, J.C., & Bodensteiner, A. (1991). Publishing opportunities

for nurses: a comparison of 92 U.S. journals. Image Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 23(1), 33-38.

Further reading on impact factor ratings Care, D. & Degner, L. (2005). Analysis of Publication Opportunities in Nursing

Journals. [PowerPoint Presentation]. Faculty of Nursing Research Seminar Series, March 22, 2005.

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Hack, T., Degner, L., & Marcoux, P. (2005). What is my publication strategy? Factors to consider. [PowerPoint Presentation]. Faculty of Nursing Research Seminar Series, March 15, 2005.

Johnstone, M.J. (2007). Journal impact factors: implications for the nursing profession.

International Nursing Review, 54(1), 35-40. Monastersky, R. (2005). The number that’s devouring science. [Webpage]. The

Chronicle of Higher Education. Last retrieved Feb. 28, 2007 from www.chronicle.com/free/v52/i08/08a01201.htm

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Appendix A

Summary of Nursing Journal ISI Impact Factors

Abbreviated Journal

Title ISSN

2007

Total

Cites

Impact

Factor

Immediacy

Index

2007

Articles

Cited

Half-

life

ADV NURS SCI 0161-

9268 809 1.333 0.138 29 >10.0

AM J CRIT CARE 1062-

3264 846 1.078 7.0

AM J NURS 0002-

936X 658 1.101 0.100 90 6.4

APPL NURS RES 0897-

1897 491 0.774 0.074 27 7.9

ARCH PSYCHIAT NURS 0883-

9417 456 0.734 0.158 38 8.9

BIOL RES NURS 1099-

8004 200 1.214 0.138 29 3.8

BIRTH-ISS PERINAT C 0730-

7659 1059 2.217 0.500 34 6.5

CANCER NURS 0162-

220X 1661 1.262 0.167 60 8.1

CIN-COMPUT INFORM NU 1538-

2931 198 0.957 0.000 30 3.7

CLIN NURSE SPEC 0887-

6274 264 0.894 0.100 30 8.1

GERIATR NURS 0197-

4572 279 0.271 0.029 34 6.6

HEART LUNG 0147-

9563 1393 1.043 0.074 54 >10.0

INT J NURS STUD 0020-

7489 1432 2.115 0.299 127 5.2

INT NURS REV 0020-

8132 184 0.653 0.122 49 5.2

J ADDICT NURS 1088-

4602 29 0.216 0.000 19

J ADV NURS 0309-

2402 7386 1.442 0.154 254 7.6

J ASSOC NURSE AIDS C 1055-

3290 295 0.672 0.021 47 6.0

J CLIN NURS 0962-

1067 1768 1.301 0.236 284 4.8

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J COMMUN HEALTH

NURS

0737-

0016 202 0.575 0.000 18 9.1

J EMERG NURS 0099-

1767 363 0.345 0.038 79 6.9

J FAM NURS 1074-

8407 175 0.714 0.048 21 7.3

J HUM LACT 0890-

3344 586 1.359 0.214 28 6.1

J MIDWIFERY WOM HEAL 1526-

9523 422 0.815 0.565 69 3.7

J NURS ADMIN 0002-

0443 1126 1.206 0.200 90 5.4

J NURS CARE QUAL 1057-

3631 290 0.679 0.044 45 4.6

J NURS EDUC 0148-

4834 965 0.714 0.090 89 7.2

J NURS SCHOLARSHIP 1527-

6546 604 1.009 0.018 56 4.9

J PERINAT NEONAT NUR 0893-

2190 230 0.671 0.026 39 5.0

J PROF NURS 8755-

7223 480 1.021 0.043 47 6.2

J WOUND OSTOMY CONT 1071-

5754 269 0.663 0.146 48 5.4

JOGNN-J OBST GYN NEO 0884-

2175 720 0.970 0.058 69 4.8

MIDWIFERY 0266-

6138 454 0.846 0.211 38 6.8

NURS CLIN N AM 0029-

6465 388 0.366 0.023 43 9.1

NURS ECON 0746-

1739 305 1.149 0.148 54 5.0

NURS EDUC TODAY 0260-

6917 922 0.573 0.036 111 6.6

NURS ETHICS 0969-

7330 455 0.817 0.067 60 5.3

NURS OUTLOOK 0029-

6554 467 0.782 0.359 39 6.4

NURS RES 0029-

6562 2475 1.748 0.190 63 >10.0

NURS SCI QUART 0894-

3184 474 1.062 0.636 33 7.4

ONCOL NURS FORUM 0190-

535X 1961 1.438 0.121 58 8.1

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ORTHOP NURS 0744-

6020 251 0.652 0.103 39 5.3

PERSPECT PSYCHIATR C 0031-

5990 153 1.062 0.250 20 5.9

PUBLIC HEALTH NURS 0737-

1209 694 0.559 0.015 65 6.4

QUAL HEALTH RES 1049-

7323 1488 1.659 0.107 122 5.7

RES NURS HEALTH 0160-

6891 1748 1.000 0.074 54 >10.0

WESTERN J NURS RES 0193-

9459 795 0.848 0.213 47 8.0

WORLDV EVID-BASED

NU

1545-

102X 85 1.167 0.167 18