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Mathematical properties of weighted impact factors based on measures of prestige of the citing journals

Author

Listed:
  • A. Ferrer-Sapena

    (Universitat Politècnica de València)

  • E. A. Sánchez-Pérez

    (Universitat Politècnica de València)

  • L. M. González

    (Universidad de Valencia)

  • F. Peset

    (Universitat Politècnica de València)

  • R. Aleixandre-Benavent

    (C.S.I.C.)

Abstract

An abstract construction for general weighted impact factors is introduced. We show that the classical weighted impact factors are particular cases of our model, but it can also be used for defining new impact measuring tools for other sources of information—as repositories of datasets—providing the mathematical support for a new family of altmetrics. Our aim is to show the main mathematical properties of this class of impact measuring tools, that hold as consequences of their mathematical structure and does not depend on the definition of any given index nowadays in use. In order to show the power of our approach in a well-known setting, we apply our construction to analyze the stability of the ordering induced in a list of journals by the 2-year impact factor ( $$\hbox {IF}_2$$ IF 2 ). We study the change of this ordering when the criterium to define it is given by the numerical value of a new weighted impact factor, in which $$\hbox {IF}_2$$ IF 2 is used for defining the weights. We prove that, if we assume that the weight associated to a citing journal increases with its $$\hbox {IF}_2$$ IF 2 , then the ordering given in the list by the new weighted impact factor coincides with the order defined by the $$\hbox {IF}_2$$ IF 2 . We give a quantitative bound for the errors committed. We also show two examples of weighted impact factors defined by weights associated to the prestige of the citing journal for the fields of MATHEMATICS and MEDICINE, GENERAL AND INTERNAL, checking if they satisfy the “increasing behavior” mentioned above.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Ferrer-Sapena & E. A. Sánchez-Pérez & L. M. González & F. Peset & R. Aleixandre-Benavent, 2015. "Mathematical properties of weighted impact factors based on measures of prestige of the citing journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 2089-2108, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:105:y:2015:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-015-1741-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-015-1741-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Loet Leydesdorff & Tobias Opthof, 2010. "Scopus's source normalized impact per paper (SNIP) versus a journal impact factor based on fractional counting of citations," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(11), pages 2365-2369, November.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lando, Tommaso & Bertoli-Barsotti, Lucio, 2017. "Measuring the citation impact of journals with generalized Lorenz curves," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 689-703.
    3. Antonia Ferrer-Sapena & Susana Díaz-Novillo & Enrique A. Sánchez-Pérez, 2017. "Measuring Time-Dynamics and Time-Stability of Journal Rankings in Mathematics and Physics by Means of Fractional p -Variations," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Hui Fang, 2020. "Investigating the journal impact along the columns and rows of the publication-citation matrix," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(3), pages 2265-2282, December.
    5. A. Ferrer-Sapena & J. M. Calabuig & L. M. García Raffi & E. A. Sánchez Pérez, 2020. "Where Should I Submit My Work for Publication? An Asymmetrical Classification Model to Optimize Choice," Journal of Classification, Springer;The Classification Society, vol. 37(2), pages 490-508, July.

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