Sunday, July 10, 2011

Impact Factors of Biomed Central journals

The 2010 edition of Thomson Reuters' Journal Citation Reports, released on June 28th 2011, provides further evidence that open access journals are delivering not only high visibility but also high rates of citation and impact.

Altogether, 101 BioMed Central journals now have official impact factors. 21 journals recorded their first impact factors this year. Meanwhile, among the 80 journals which already had impact factors, 52 increased while only 28 declined. The average change in impact factor was an increase of 0.19 points.

Some highlights:

  • BMC Medicine (IF 5.75) saw a huge jump in its impact factor and is now in the top 10% of journals in the General Medicine category
  • Retrovirology (IF 5.24), is now 4th of 32 in the Virology category, overtaking Journal of Virology
  • Malaria Journal (IF 3.49) recorded its third successive increase and remains the 2nd most highly ranked journal in the Tropical Medicine category
  • Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (IF 4.33), official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, almost doubled its previous impact factor of 2.28
  • BMC Plant Biology (IF 4.09) increased from 3.77 to confirm its ranking in the top 10% of the Plant Science category
  • BMC Veterinary Research (IF 2.37) makes an exceptionally strong start, ranking 8th of 145 in the Veterinary Sciences category
  • Frontiers of Zoology (IF 2.42) debuts in the JCR in the top 10% of the Zoology category
  • Particle and Fibre Toxicology (IF 4.91) ranks 4th of 83 in the Toxicology category
  • Cell Division (IF 4.09) and Epigenetics & Chromatin (IF 4.73) also both make strong starts

 Full list of 2010 impact factors for BioMed Central journals
(journals listed in bold have new or improved impact factors) 

Journal 2010 IF  
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 1.20  
Algorithms for Molecular Biology 2.80  
Arthritis Research & Therapy 4.36  
Behavioral Brain Functions 2.31  
Biology Direct 3.74  
Biological Procedures Online 0.74  
BioMedical Engineering OnLine 1.12  
Biotechnology for Biofuels 4.15  
BMC Bioinformatics 3.03  
BMC Biology 5.20  
BMC Biotechnology 2.86  
BMC Cancer 3.15  
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders 2.02 New
BMC Cell Biology 2.46  
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2.20 New
BMC Developmental Biology 2.78  
BMC Evolutionary Biology 3.70  
BMC Family Practice 1.47  
BMC Gastroenterology 2.47  
BMC Genetics 2.49  
BMC Genomics 4.21  
BMC Health Services Research 1.72  
BMC Immunology 3.00  
BMC Infectious Diseases 2.83  
BMC Medical Education 1.20 New
BMC Medical Genetics 2.44  
BMC Medical Genomics 3.77  
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2.23  
BMC Medical Research Methodology 2.15  
BMC Medicine 5.75  
BMC Microbiology 2.96  
BMC Molecular Biology 3.19  
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 1.94  
BMC Nephrology 2.14 New
BMC Neurology 2.80  
BMC Neuroscience 3.09  
BMC Pediatrics 1.90 New
BMC Plant Biology 4.09  
BMC Psychiatry 2.89  
BMC Public Health 2.36  
BMC Structural Biology 2.26  
BMC Systems Biology 3.57  
BMC Veterinary Research 2.37 New
Breast Cancer Research 5.79  
Cardiovascular Diabetology 2.72  
Cardiovascular Ultrasound 1.56 New
Cell Division 4.09 New
Chemistry Central Journal* 1.12  
Critical Care 4.60  
Diagnostic Pathology 1.39  
Environmental Health 2.45  
Epigenetics & Chromatin 4.73 New
Frontiers in Zoology 2.52 New
Genetics Selection Evolution 1.48  
Genome Biology 6.89  
Geochemical Transactions 1.92  
Harm Reduction Journal 1.46 New
Human Resources for Health 1.38 New
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1.86  
Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 0.96  
Implementation Science 2.51  
International Journal for Equity in Health 1.30 New
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 3.17  
International Journal of Health Geographics 2.34  
Irish Veterinary Journal 0.33  
Journal of Biomedical Science 1.96  
Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery 0.91  
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 4.33  
Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 1.92  
Journal of Hematology & Oncology 2.93  
Journal of Inflammation 2.02 New
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders 1.27 New
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2.64  
Journal of Neuroinflammation 5.79  
Journal of the International Society for Sports Nutrition 2.68 New
Journal of Translational Medicine 3.51  
Lipids in Health and Disease 2.24  
Malaria Journal 3.49  
Microbial Cell Factories 4.54  
Molecular Cancer 3.78  
Molecular Neurodegeneration 5.36  
Molecular Pain 4.15  
Neural Development 3.40  
Nutrition & Metabolism 2.35  
Nutrition Journal 2.56 New
Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 5.93  
Parasites and Vectors 2.13  
Particle and Fibre Toxicology 4.91 New
Plant Methods 3.28  
Proteome Science 2.49  
Radiation Oncology 2.41  
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 1.70  
Respiratory Research 2.86  
Retrovirology 5.24  
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine 2.18 New
Substance AbuseTreatment, Prevention, and Policy 1.58  
Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling 1.60 New
Trials 2.08  
Veterinary Research 3.77  
Virology Journal 2.55  
World Journal of Surgical Oncology 1.12 New

 * Based on Web of Science data, the impact factor listed for Chemistry Central Journal appears to be erroneously low and has been queried with Thomson Reuters.

For further information on impact factors and journal tracking, see BioMed Central's impact factor FAQ.

Posted by Matt Cockerill