Citation analysis of the Croatian medical journal: the first 15 years

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Nataša Kovačić
• Author: Mirjana Huić
• Author: Ana Ivaniš
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; School of Medicine
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Information and Communication Sciences

Abstract (english)

The Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ) is a bimonthly scientific journal, that publishes mostly original articles. It is indexed in the Index Medicus/MEDLINE, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, and the Science Citation Index Expanded. Since the CMJ's 15th anniversary in 2007, our aim has been to assess the importance of the Journal through its impact factor (IF) and immediacy index, with a particular focus placed on the proportion of self-citations. According the Web of Knowledge database, the current official IF for the CMJ is 0.825, ranking it 62nd out of 103 journals within the Thomson Scientific category "Medicine - General and Internal." The exclusion of self-citations resulted in a small decrease in the journal's rank - to 66th place. According to the Web of Science database, the predicted CMJ IF in 2007 is between 1.024 and 1.125, showing a clear increase. The immediacy index of the CMJ is continuously low, with a high contribution of self-citations, implying that articles published in the CMJ require more time to be cited, and that their topics are of particular interest to the journal's readers and contributors. Self-citations contributed significantly to the IF in the first few years after the journal was established. The proportion of independent citations progressively increased, and of all the citations included in the IF in 2007, almost 70% were fully independent. Some of these citations were from articles published in journals with IF higher than 5. Taken together, our data suggest that the CMJ has significantly improved its citation ratings during the last 15 years, confirming that a quality-oriented editorial policy in a small peripheral journal may result in a truly increased international visibility.

Abstract (croatian)

Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ) je dvomjesčni znanstveni časopis, koji uglavnom objavljuje izvorne znanstvene članke. Časopis ee refereira u bazama podataka Index Medicus/MEDLINE, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, i Science Citation Index–Expanded. Petnaesta obljetnica rada časopisa koju smo obilježili 2007. godine bila je dobar povod da ponovno procijenimo kvalitetu časopisa izračunvanjem čimbenika odjeka i istogodišnjeg čimbenika odjeka (immediacy index), a posebnu pozornost posvetili smo izračunavanju udjela autocitata u tim pokatateljima. Prema podatcima iz baze podataka Web of Knowledge, trenutni službeni čimbenik odjeka CMJ-a je 0.825, što smješta CMJ na 62. mjesto od 103 časopisa u kategoriji “Medicina – opća i interna” baze podataka Thomson Scientific. Kada smo izuzeli auto-citate, CMJ je pao na 66. poziciju. Prema podatcima iz baze podataka Web of Science, predviđa se da će čimbenik odjeka CMJ-a za 2007. biti između 1.024 i 1.125, što je zavidno povišenje u odnosu na godinu 2006. Istogodišnji čimbenik odjeka CMJ-a je i dalje nizak, s visokim udjelom autocitata. To upućuje da člancima objavljenim u CMJ-u treba više vremena da budu citirani te da predstavljaju teme koje su posebno zanimljivije čitateljima i suradnicima časopisa. Autocitati su znatno doprinosili čimbeniku odjeka prvih nekoliko godina postojanja časopisa. Međutim, udio nezavisnih citata stalno se povećavao i 2007., od svih citata koji su ulazili u čimbenik odjeka, bilo je 70% nezavisnih citata. Neki od tih nezavisnih citata bili su u člancima objavljenim u časopisima s čimbenikom odjeka većim od 5. Naša analiza pokazuje da je CMJ značajno popravio svoje podatke o citiranosti u zadnjih 15 godina, što potvrđuje da urednička usmjerenost na kakvoću doista može povećati međunarodnu vidljivost malog časopisa sa znanstvene periferije.

• Keywords (english): Croatia; Editorial Policies; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Journal Impact Factor; Periodicals as Topic/history; Periodicals as Topic/standards; Periodicals as Topic/statistics & numerical data
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Croatian Medical Journal
• Numbering: vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 12-17
• p-ISSN: 0353-9504
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2008.1.12
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:105:983052
• Publication: 2008-02
• Document URL: http://www.cmj.hr/2008/49/1/18293451.htm
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2024-03-28 10:06:33