New Impact Factors Yield Surprises

Thomson Reuters has released its 2009 Journal Citation Report, cataloging journals impact factors’, and shuffling in the top few spots have some analysts scratching their heads. Specifically, the publication with second highest impact factor in the “science” category is Acta Crystallographica - Section A, knocking none other than the New England Journal of Medicine from the runner’s up position.

This title’s impact factor rocketed up to 49.926 this year, more than 20-fold higher than last year. A single article published in a 2008 issue of the journal seems to be responsible for the meteoric rise in the Acta Crystallographica - Section A’s impact factor. “A short history of SHELX,” by University of Göttingen crystallographer George Sheldrick, which reviewed the development of the computer system SHELX, has been cited more than 6,600 times, according to ISI. This paper includes a sentence that essentially instructs readers to cite the paper they’re reading—“This ...