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Title: 

An assessment of the predictive validity of impact factor scores: Implications for academic employment decisions in social work

Authors: Holden Gary, Rosenberg Gary
Barker Kathleen, Onghena Patrick
Keywords: scientific communication;decision making;personnel promotion;personnel selection;teacher tenure;educational personnel;occupational tenure;career development;higher education;citation analysis;impact factor score;validity;faculty;hiring;reappointment;social work education
Issue Date: 1-Oct-2007
Abstract: Objective: Bibliometrics is a method of examining scholarly communications. Concerns regarding the utility of bibliometrics in general, and the impact factor score (IFS) in particular, have been discussed across disciplines including social work. While there are frequent mentions in the literature of the IFS as an indicator of the impact or quality of scholars’ work, little empirical work has been published regarding the validity of such use. Method: A proportionate, stratified, random sample, of n=323 articles was selected from 17 Web of Science listed social work journals published during the 1992-1994 period. Results: The relationship between journals’ impact factor scores and the actual impact of articles published in those journals (predictive validity) was r = .41 (short term) and r = .42 (long term). Conclusion: The practice of using the IFS as a proxy indicator of article impact merits significant concern as well as further empirical investigation. The final, definitive version of this article has been published in Research on Social Work Practice, 16, 6 © SAGE Publications Ltd at the Research on Social Work Practice page: http://rswp.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
Description: Citation for final version: Holden, G., Rosenberg, G., Barker, K., & Onghena, P. (2006). An assessment of the predictive validity of impact factor scores: Implications for academic employment decisions in social work. Research on Social Work Practice, 16, 6, 613-624.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2451/23581
Rights: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in Research on Social Work Practice, 16, 6 © SAGE Publications Ltd at the Research on Social Work Practice page: http://rswp.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
Appears in Collections:Gary Holden's Collection

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