GEOPHYSICS’ 2009 impact factor sets record

GEOPHYSICS earned the highest impact factor in the journal’s history in 2009 — 1.662 — according to the Science Edition of Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation Reports released in June.

The 2009 impact factor was more than 2/10 of a point higher than the journal’s previous high of 1.461 in 1983. In 2008, GEOPHYSICS’ impact factor was 1.349, previously the journal’s No. 2 all-time rating.

The 2009 rating was calculated by taking the number of cites in 2009 to GEOPHYSICS articles published in 2007 and 2008 and dividing it by the number of articles published in the journal in 2007 and 2008.

Journal Citation Reports measures, especially the impact factor, are widely used by librarians and publishers to assess the value of a journal in advancing sciences.

GEOPHYSICS’ impact factor has risen steadily during the past several years as the journal has sharply reduced its average time from publication to submission from nearly two years to approximately 11 months. The ratings were 1.030 for 2005, 1.228 for 2006, 1.167 for 2007, and 1.349 for 2008. Submissions and number of articles published also have increased during these years.

“GEOPHYSICS’ stature as the preeminent journal in applied geophysics continues to grow, and its steadily rising impact factor is one measure of this,” said Editor Vladimir Grechka.

GEOPHYSICS’ impact factor was 31^st highest among 75 journals in the Journal Citation Reports’ Geochemistry and Geophysics category. In 2008, the journal ranked 35^th out of 64 journals in impact factor.

Former Editor Kees Wapenaar put GEOPHYSICS’ relatively modest impact factor in perspective with his May 2008 President’s Page, arguing that the journal’s “industrial impact” is greater than its impact factor might indicate.

GEOPHYSICS’ strength is reflected in several other 2009 ratings and Geochemistry and Geophysics journal rankings provided in the Journal Citation Reports:

Number of articles published: 306 (8^th)

Total cites (total number of times journal was cited by all journals): 9,988 (10^th)

Five-year impact factor: 1.939 (29^th)

Immediacy index (cites in 2009 divided by articles published in 2009): 1.999 (52^nd)

Cited half-life (median age of articles cited): >10 (one of 24 journals)

Eigenfactor score (impact factor calculation that includes citations in social-science journals, excludes citations to articles in the same journal, and weighs in time researchers spend reading the journal): 0.01238 (16^th)

Article influence score (relative importance of a journal on a per-article basis; a score above 1.00 indicates journal has above-average influence): 0.539 (40^th)