Natural Science

Natural Science

ISSN Print: 2150-4091
ISSN Online: 2150-4105
www.scirp.org/journal/ns
E-mail: ns@scirp.org
Journal Metrics / Impact Factor
Journal Start Year Articles Total Cites Cites per Article h* index h5 index
NS 2009 1219 16123 13.3 48 13
The listed h5 index is originated from Google Scholar Metrics updated in July 2023.
The listed h* index was calculated based on the citations statistics from Google Scholar. Updated in July 2022.
1. Alternative Impact Factor
  • Several journal metrics are calculated. The first metric is an alternative impact factor which is based on Google Scholar's citation count.
  • The journal impact factor (JIF) normally referred to is the proprietary journal impact factor from Thomson Reuters calculated based on the Web of Science (WOS) and published in the Journal Citation Reports® (JCR). We call this the JCR®JIF. DOAJ writes: "There is only one official, universally recognised impact factor that is generated by Thomson Reuters; it is a proprietary measure run by a profit making organisation. It runs against the ethics and principles of open access." This journal has no JCR®JIF, but an alternative Google-based impact factor.
  • Today 57 % of readers find their way to SCIRP's articles via Google Scholar. No open or proprietary database is directing so many readers to SCIRP's articles. Google Scholar is the only openly available database suitable for journal metric calculation. It has a wide coverage and is a meaningful source. For this reason, SCIRP is calculating its own Impact Factor based on Google Scholar's citation counts. Scientists are used to Thomson Reuters' way of calculating an impact factor. For this reason, SCIRP applies Thomson Reuters'(TR) algorithm as published on http://wokinfo.com/essays/impact-factor in Figure 1. This algorithm is not protected and can be used by anyone. In short: SCIRP calculates a 2-year Google-based Journal Impact Factor (2-GJIF).
With respect to all articles from this journal for the respective year:
A = total cites in 2020 = 1798
B = 2020 cites to articles published in 2018 - 2019 = 61 (this is a subset of A)
C = number of articles published in 2018 - 2019 = 82
2-GJIF for 2020 = D = B/C = 61/82 = 0.74 (TR algorithm, Google citations, data July 2022)
Please see also the List of Citations for NS.
An impact factors for e.g. 2020 can only be published once this year is over (e.g. in 2021). At Clarivate Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters) this is done when all 2020 publications have been processed. Once published, the JCR®JIF for a given year is fixed. In contrast, a GJIF has never a fixed value. Depending on individual activities on the Internet (self-archiving and Green Open Access), some articles published Closed Access in one year may appear online only months or even years later. This has an influence on Google Scholar's citation count and makes it necessary to state the 2-GJIF for a given year always with the date the data was retrieved from Google Scholar. SCIRP may provide updates of the 2-GJIF during the year.
E = 2020 self-citations to articles published in 2018 - 2019 = 2 (this is a subset of B)
Self-Cited Rate = E/B = 2/61 = 0.033 = 3.3 % (definition Rousseau 1999, data July 2022)
Journal self-citations are citations to articles in the same journal. A Self-Cited Rate below 20 % is considered acceptable. A higher Self-Cited Rate than this could be explained by a journal's novel or highly specific topic, but could also reveal a journal with excessive self-citations.
Please interpret the 2-GJIF with caution:
• Due to differences in the underlying database, the value calculated here for the 2-GJIF can not be compared with a JCR®2-JIF.
• Do not compare journals from different subject fields based on their JIF. Journals in fundamental subject fields tend to have higher impact factors than journals in specialized or applied subject fields.
• Journal metrics should not be used to assess individual authors. Please refer instead to our article metrics provided for each paper: Number of citations from Google Scholar and number of citations from CrossRef.
2. h-index

h = 48 (data July 2022, based on the Google Scholar Citations)
The current h-index considers citations from the start of the journal. It is a cumulative index that grows each year. Look at the list of Top Cited Articles sorted by "Times Cited – highest to lowest". Count down the list. Stop before your counter h becomes larger than the number of citations of the article. The number h you counted up to is the h-index.
3. h5-index

h5 = 13 (data July 2023, based on the Google Scholar Metrics)
The listed h5 index is originated from Google Scholar Metrics updated in July 2023. Google Scholar Metrics provide an easy way for authors to quickly gauge the visibility and influence of recent articles in scholarly publications. The latest 2023 version of Scholar Metrics was released online on July 19th 2023, considering citations of the articles that were published from 2018 – 2022.
Compare the h5-index of this journal also with what Google Scholar has calculated: The h5-index of the top ranked journals in the field of Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (general). Admittedly, this journal may still have to grow to reach world class ranking, but which of the journals listed are Open Access?!
4. Statistics, Productivity, and Impact
Year in which journal started publishing = Y_start = 2009
Number of full years journal is publishing = Y = 12
Number of articles published since journal start = P_total = 1209
Number of articles published in 2020 = P_2020 = 61
Total number of citations since journal start = C_total = 16123
Number of citations in 2020 = C_2020 = A = 1798
Average number of citations per year = C_total/Y = 16123/12 = 1343.6
Average number of citations per paper = C_total/P_total = 16123/1209 = 13.3
with data from July 2022.
For any further questions please feel free to contact journals@scirp.org.
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