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Research Impact

This guide covers some of the more common measures of author, journal, and article impact - what they are, and how to find them.

What are Author Impact Scores?

The author's impact score is traditionally measured by using the number of academic publications they have authored and the number of times other researchers have cited the author's publications. Different algorithms have been created to calculate an author's impact 'score' using the number of publications and the number of cited. Below are a few metrics you may encounter. Remember that author impact measurements have limitations and should be used carefully.

Note: Different databases will have different metrics scores depending on what articles (citations) they can access.

  • h-index (most widely used)
    • The h-index is the number of papers (h) that received h or more citations. An h index of 3 means that an author has 3 papers that each received at least 3 citations. One common criticism of h-index is that it is not an accurate measure for early-career researchers.
  • g-index
    • This algorithm was proposed in 2006 as an alternative to giving more weight to highly cited papers, but it has not been widely accepted.
  • i10-index
    • This algorithm is only used in Google Scholar and counts the number of publications with at least 10 citations.

Where Can I Find Author Impact Scores?

Locate an Author Profile in Scopus

  • Search for authors using the Author search functionality.
  • Review your Author Profile to make sure it is up to date with the latest publications, and citations. 
    • Set a preferred name
    • Merge profiles 
    • Add and remove documents
    • Update affiliation
  • Use Author Profiles to look for other researchers (globally and locally) active in the same research field for collaboration or to review the latest research your colleagues have published.
  • See detailed steps and videos on the Scopus LibGuide - Author Profile page

Locating Your Author Impact Score:

To locate your citation metrics in Google Scholar, you first need to create an author profile in Google Scholar Citations. Once you have a profile, you can view your citation metrics and create email alerts every time one of your publications is cited. See an example below.

Locating Other Researchers Author Impact Scores:

Note: You will only be able to view their research score if they have registered for an author profile.

You start by searching Google Scholar for the author's name or for one of their research articles. Once you've found an article by the author, you will notice their name is underlined if they have an author profile (see example below). You can click on their name to view their articles and author metrics. Screenshoot of a Google Scholar Result

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