A critical view of the h-index: observations based on a practical application

Authors

  • Rodrigo Costas El profesional de la información
  • Marí­a Bordons

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2007.sep.04

Keywords:

h-index, Citation analysis, Bibliometric indicators, Research evaluation

Abstract

The possible use of h-index in the evaluation of individual researchers has raised great concern among policymakers and scientists themselves. Research is needed to determine the advantages and limitations of this new indicator. A study of publications in the Web of Science, 1994-2004, applied the h-index to researchers working in the natural resources area at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). One of the findings presented is that the h-index detected the most outstanding scientists; however, scientists who follow a selective publication strategy, publishing a relatively low number of documents that are frequently cited, could be penalized for this approach in h-index based evaluations. The authors emphasize the need to avoid the specific limitations of each indicator by combining indicators in the evaluation process.

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Published

2016-08-03

How to Cite

Costas, R., & Bordons, M. (2016). A critical view of the h-index: observations based on a practical application. Profesional De La información, 16(5), 427–432. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2007.sep.04

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 5 (2007): Documentación multimedia

Section

Research articles

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