Toward alternative metrics of journal impact: a comparison of download and citation data

  • Authors:

  • Johan Bollen;Herbert Van de Sompel;Joan A. Smith;Rick Luce

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Computer Science, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA and Research Library, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM;Research Library, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM;Department of Computer Science, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA;Research Library, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM

  • Venue:
  • Information Processing and Management: an International Journal - Special issue: Infometrics
  • Year:
  • 2005

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Abstract

We generated networks of journal relationships from citation and download data, and determined journal impact rankings from these networks using a set of social network centrality metrics. The resulting journal impact rankings were compared to the ISI IF. Results indicate that, although social network metrics and ISI IF rankings deviate moderately for citation-based journal networks, they differ considerably for journal networks derived from download data. We believe the results represent a unique aspect of general journal impact that is not captured by the ISI IF. These results furthermore raise questions regarding the validity of the ISI IF as the sole assessment of journal impact, and suggest the possibility of devising impact metrics based on usage information in general.