SPORTSCIENCE |
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News & Comment / Research Resources |
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Impact Factors of Journals in Sport and Exercise Science, 2004
Will G Hopkins
Sportscience 9, 14-16, 2005 (sportsci.org/jour/05/wghif.htm)
Sport and Recreation, AUT University, Auckland 1020, New Zealand. Email. Reviewer: Steve Olivier, Social and Health
Sciences, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee, UK.
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A journal's impact can be measured as a factor representing the recent annual rate of citation of its average article. Exercise and sport-science journals with impact factors rising by more than 0.3 since last year include Acta Physiologica Scandinavica (now 2.1), Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (1.6), Leisure Sciences (1.3), Pediatric Exercise Science (1.4), Physical Therapy (2.0), Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (1.7), and Sports Medicine (2.8). A noteworthy newcomer is Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews (2.3). Journals maintaining their impact include American Journal of Sports Medicine (2.4), Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1.7), British Journal of Sports Medicine (1.3), European Journal of Applied Physiology (1.3), High Altitude Medicine and Biology (1.5), Human Movement Science (1.1), International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (0.9), International Journal of Sport Psychology (0.4), International Journal of Sports Medicine (1.4), Journal of Applied Biomechanics (0.4), Journal of Applied Physiology (2.8), Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (0.9), Journal of Athletic Training (1.3), Journal of Biomechanics (1.9), Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (1.4), Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (0.9), Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (2.6), and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (0.9). Two core journals fell by more than 0.4: Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (1.4) and Journal of Sports Sciences (0.9). KEYWORDS: academic, citation, publication, research. |
Each year Thomson Scientific (formerly the Institute for Scientific Information) publishes an update of its Journal Citation Reports, which summarize the ways authors of journal articles cite other articles. The statistic of most interest is the journal impact factor, which is the number of times per year the average article in a given journal in recent years (2002, 2003) was cited in all journal articles in the previous year (2004). Impact factors provide only a rough measure of quality of articles in the various journals. For more information and a critique, read the article that accompanied last year's list at this site. The journal Nature, which enjoys one of the highest factors (currently 32), also featured an editorial in June that was critical of "the unhealthy reliance on impact factors by administrators and researchers’ employers worldwide to assess the scientific quality of nations and institutions, and often even to judge individuals".
This year Thomson Scientific insisted that I provide a shorter list of journals and approximate values for some journals, to comply with its policy of acceptable use. I have therefore focused on the core journals of sport and exercise science. I have also had to stop tabulating factors for previous years in this article and to remove tabulations from previous articles. You can access complete citation data at Thomson Scientific's Web of Knowledge, if your institution has a subscription.
In my report for impact factors in 2003, I noted that the typical change in the impact factor between years was ~±0.3. Assuming a change greater than 0.3 is therefore atypical or noteworthy, the following core journals showed noteworthy increases since last year: Acta Physiologica Scandinavica (1.7®2.1), Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (1.1®1.6), Leisure Sciences (0.7®1.3), Pediatric Exercise Science (0.8®1.4), Physical Therapy (1.6®2.0), and Sports Medicine (2.4®2.8). The biggest winner is the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, up from 0.9 to 1.7. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews made a respectable entry on 2.3, after the requisite three years since its first appearance as a journal. Two core journals showed a noteworthy decline of more than 0.3: Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (1.8®1.4) and Journal of Sports Sciences (1.3®0.9).
I doubt whether the changes in specific journals reflect changes in quality of the articles therein. More likely, the changes are due either to sampling variation, or to changes in the area of specialization of the journal, or to changes in research activity in the journal's discipline. It worries me that a fall in a journal's impact could result in a vicous cycle of decline, because some researchers may save their best work for journals that are on the way up. My continuing to publish these factors from year to year might help set such a vicious cycle in motion. Publishing this article is also inconsistent with my critical view of impact factors, but my motives are partly selfish: the article is easy to write, it is popular, and it may serve as a magnet to attract readers to the other articles.
In the table below, "<1.0" implies a value between 0.1 and 1.0. Journals without an impact factor are not in ISI's science or social sciences databases, either because the journal is too new or the factor is too low.
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ACSM's Health
and Fitness Journal |
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<1.0 |
Adapted
Physical Activity Quarterly |
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American
Journal of Medicine and Sports |
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1.1 |
American
Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |
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~4 |
American
Journals of Physiology |
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2.4 |
American
Journal of Sports Medicine |
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Applied
Ergonomics |
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<1.0 |
Applied Psychological
Measurement |
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<1.0 |
Applied
Psychology-International Review |
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1.7 |
Archives of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |
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<1.0 |
Athletic
Therapy Today |
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1.0 |
Australian
Journal of Physiotherapy |
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<1.0 |
Aviation Space
and Environmental Medicine |
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1.3 |
Behavior
Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers |
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<0.1 |
Biology of
Sport |
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1.3 |
British
Journal of Sports Medicine |
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1.1 |
Canadian
Journal of Applied Physiology |
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1.3 |
Clinical
Biomechanics |
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1.4 |
Clinical Journal
of Sport Medicine |
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2.0 |
Clinical
Nutrition |
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<1.0 |
Clinics in
Sports Medicine |
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<1.0 |
Deutsche
Zeitschrift fur Sportmedizin |
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Electromyography
and Motor Control |
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<1.0 |
Ergonomics |
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1.3 |
European
Journal of Applied Physiology |
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2.1 |
European
Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
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European
Journal of Sport Science |
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European
Sports History Review |
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2.3 |
Exercise and
Sport Sciences Reviews |
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- |
Exercise
Immunology Review (discontinued) |
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1.7 |
Gait and
Posture |
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1.5 |
High Altitude
Medicine and Biology |
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1.1 |
Human Movement
Science |
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3.7 |
International
Journal of Epidemiology |
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International
Journal of History of Sport |
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International
Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport |
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0.9 |
International Journal
of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism |
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0.4 |
International
Journal of Sport Psychology |
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1.4 |
International
Journal of Sports Medicine |
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International
Review for the Sociology of Sport |
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International
Sports Journal |
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<1.0 |
Isokinetics
and Exercise Science |
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<0.1 |
Japanese
Journal of Physical Fitness and Sport |
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<1.0 |
Journal of
Aging and Physical Activity |
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Journal of
Applied Behavioral Science |
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0.4 |
Journal of
Applied Biomechanics |
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2.8 |
Journal of Applied
Physiology |
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2.6 |
Journal of
Applied Psychology |
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0.9 |
Journal of
Applied Sport Psychology |
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1.3 |
Journal of
Athletic Training |
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1.9 |
Journal of
Biomechanics |
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Journal of
Bodywork and Movement Therapies |
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<1.0 |
Journal of Clinical
Psychology |
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Journal of
Comparative Physical Education and Sport |
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2.1 |
Journal of
Electromyography and Kinesiology |
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2.8 |
Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health |
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Journal of
Exercise Physiology Online |
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<1.0 |
Journal of Human
Movement Studies |
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Journal of
Human Performance in Extreme Environments |
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<1.0 |