What is Research Impact

Article Impact measures the influence of a research paper at the individual article level. It is typically determined by the number of times the paper has been cited by other researchers.

​Journal impact evaluates the influence of a journal by examining the average number of articles it publishes and the citations those articles receive. This metric helps identify key journals within a specific field and can guide decisions about where to publish research. The most widely used measure for journal impact is the Impact Factor, which is published annually by the Journal Citation Reports (JCR).

A researcher’s impact is typically assessed through the number of publications authored and the frequency with which those publications are cited by others. A commonly used researcher-specific metric is the h-index, which reflects both the quantity and impact of an author’s work.

Citation counts and h-index values can be obtained by performing an author search in citation databases such as Web of Science and Scopus. Additionally, Google Scholar provides author metrics, including citation counts, h-index, and i10-index. These tools offer valuable insights into a researcher’s influence within their field.

Alternative Metrics or Altmetrics are gaining popularity as a way to measure the online attention and engagement that scholarly works receive. These metrics capture and analyze activities such as shares, mentions, views, and downloads across platforms like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and social bookmarking sites.

Unlike traditional citation metrics, altmetrics provide an early indication of a work's impact, offering insights into its immediate influence, especially before citation-based metrics become available in databases. Altmetrics complement traditional metrics by reflecting the broader reach and societal engagement of scholarly works.