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Impact Factors of Journals in Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine for 2010

Will G Hopkins

Sportscience 14, 60-62, 2010 (sportsci.org/2010/wghif.htm)
Sport and Recreation, AUT University, Auckland 0627, New Zealand.  Email.  Reviewer: David Pyne, Department of Physiology, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, Australia.

The biggest gain this year in the impact factor (mean cites per article per year) for journals specializing in exercise or sport science or medicine was that of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, now on 1.5 (up by 88% from last year's 0.8).  Other journals with gains of at least 30% include Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (3.0), Journal of Athletic Training (2.5), Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy (2.5), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2.2), Pediatric Exercise Science (1.6), Journal of Sport and Social Issues (1.0), and International Journal of Sport Psychology (1.0).  Journals gaining by 10-30% include Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews (3.2), British Journal of Sports Medicine (2.5), Human Movement Science (2.1), Applied Physiology Nutrition & Metabolism (2.0), Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (1.3), and Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review (1.2). The following journals showed little change: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (3.7), Sports Medicine (3.1), Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (2.3), Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2.2), International Journal of Sports Medicine (1.6), American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1.6), Journal of Sports Sciences (1.6), Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (1.5), Clinics in Sports Medicine (1.3), and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (1.1).  Journals dropping by more than 10% were Exercise Immunology Review (2.4), Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (1.6), Journal of Aging and Physical Activity (1.5), and International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (1.2). There are five newcomers: European Review of Aging and Physical Activity (0.6), Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (0.5), Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness (0.6), Journal of Human Kinetics (0.4), and Journal of Sport Economics (0.6). A site devoted to a democratic publication process was launched this year. KEYWORDS: citation, publication, research. 

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Update Dec 2010. International Journal of Coaching Science and International Journal of Computer Science in Sport added to the list.

Updates Sept 2010.  I had omitted two newcomers: European Review of Aging and Physical Activity (0.6), and Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (0.5). Also, I asked WebMedCentral for information on the identity and credentials of the editorial team, but I got no reply.

This article is my annual update of the impact factor (mean cites per article per year) of journals in the disciplines of exercise and sport science and medicine, cribbed from the latest edition of Journal Citation Reports at the Thompson Reuters/ISI Web of Knowledge site. Access to impact factors and other citation statistics for these and other journals requires an institutional subscription to Web of Science. Last year's update provides more information about the impact factor, its limitations, and related statistics. Table 1 shows the values of the impact factors, and the abstract above is a summary focusing on changes since last year. 

In previous updates I have elaborated on the impact factor and other citation statistics. This year my increasing disenchantment with the peer-review and editorial process for some journals has prompted me to acquaint you with something different. One colleague (Carl Paton) recently brought my attention to WebMedCentral, a new publication site that is attempting to disseminate research findings in a more open and democratic manner than that of the traditional journals, dominated as they are by the autocracies of their disciplines. The idea behind the site is that practically everything gets published, but so do any non-anonymous reviews of the articles and the authors' responses.  The articles themselves can also be updated.  It's easy to think of ways this process won't work, and the publication format needs improving, but let's hope it will evolve in a self-correcting manner into something to challenge the usual journals.  As yet there are no papers devoted to sport science at the site, and there is no information about the identity or credentials of the editorial team. I won't be submitting my research there yet.

 

Table 1: Impact factors (cites per article per year) for sport and exercise science journals based on papers published in 2007 and 2008 that were cited in 2009.  Some impact factors are shown as inequalities, to comply with terms of use set by Thomson Reuters. "<1.0" implies a value between 0.1 and 1.0.  ??? indicates absence from the database of a journal that was previously listed. A journal without an impact factor is not in Thomson Reuter's science or social sciences databases, either because the journal is too new or the factor is too low.  Color indicates direction and magnitude of change in impact factor since last year, as follows:

 

70-88%

 

30-69%

 

10-29%

 

0-9%

 

10-33%

<1.0

ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal

2.8

Acta Physiologica (Scandinavica)

0.9

Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly

 

American Journal of Medicine and Sports

1.6

American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

4.4

American Journal of Physiology - Endo & Metab

3.7

American Journal of Physiology - Heart & Circ

3.6

American Journal of Sports Medicine

1.1

Applied Ergonomics

2.0

Applied Physiology Nutrition & Metabolism

<1.0

Applied Psychological Measurement

1.8

Applied Psychology-International Review

2.2

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

<1.0

Athletic Therapy Today

1.0

Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine

2.9

Behavior Research Methods

<1.0

Biology of Sport

2.5

British Journal of Sports Medicine

1.8

Clinical Biomechanics

1.5

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine

1.3

Clinics in Sports Medicine

 

Current Sports Medicine Reports

???

Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Sportmedizin

 

Electromyography and Motor Control

1.4

Ergonomics

2.0

European Journal of Applied Physiology

0.7

European Journal of Sport Science

0.6

European Review of Aging and Physical Activity

 

European Sports History Review

2.4

Exercise Immunology Review

3.2

Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews

2.6

Gait and Posture

1.6

High Altitude Medicine and Biology

2.1

Human Movement Science

 

International Journal of Coaching Science

 

International Journal of Computer Science in Sport

5.3

International Journal of Epidemiology

 

International Journal of History of Sport

 

International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport

1.2

International J of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism

1.0

International Journal of Sport Psychology

1.6

International Journal of Sports Medicine

 

International J of Sports Physiology & Performance

 

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

<1.0

International Sportmed Journal

 

International Sports Journal

<1.0

Isokinetics and Exercise Science

<1.0

Japanese Journal of Physical Fitness and Sport

1.5

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity

1.5

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

 

Journal of Applied Behavioral Science

<1.0

Journal of Applied Biomechanics

3.7

Journal of Applied Physiology

3.8

Journal of Applied Psychology

1.3

Journal of Applied Sport Psychology

2.5

Journal of Athletic Training

2.7

Journal of Biomechanics

1.5

Journal of Clinical Psychology

 

Journal of Comparative Physical Education & Sport

2.0

Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology

3.0

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health

 

Journal of Exercise Physiology Online

0.6

Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness

0.4

Journal of Human Kinetics

???

Journal of Human Movement Studies

 

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

0.5

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

<1.0

Journal of Leisure Research

1.6

Journal of Motor Behavior

1.9

Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine

2.5

Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy

<1.0

Journal of the Philosophy of Sport

 

Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance

4.8

Journal of Physiology

1.6

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport

1.1

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

3.0

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

1.1

Journal of Sport and Social Issues

 

Journal of Sport Behavior

0.6

Journal of Sport Economics

 

Journal of Sport History

<1.0

Journal of Sport Management

<1.0

Journal of Sport Rehabilitation

 

Journal of Sports Chiropractic and Rehabilitation

0.8

Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness

0.8

Journal of Sports Science and Medicine

1.6

Journal of Sports Sciences

 

Journal of Sports Traumatology

1.5

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

 

Journal of Swimming Research

<1.0

Journal of Teaching in Physical Education

1.0

Leisure Sciences

 

Leisure Studies

 

Measurement in Physical Education & Exercise Science

<1.0

Medicina dello Sport

3.7

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise

 

Medicine and Sport Science

1.5

Motor Control

1.6

Pediatric Exercise Science

 

Pediatric Physical Therapy

<1.0

Perceptual and Motor Skills

 

Physical Educator

2.1

Physical Therapy

<1.0

Physical Therapy in Sport

???

Physician and Sportsmedicine

2.2

Psychology of Sport and Exercise

<1.0

Quest

 

Research in Sports Med (was Sports Med Train Rehab)

1.1

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport

2.3

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

<1.0

Science and Sports

<1.0

Sociology of Sport Journal

 

Sport History Review

<1.0

Sport, Education, and Society

1.3

(The) Sport Psychologist

0.8

Sports Biomechanics

 

Sports Exercise and Injury

3.1

Sports Medicine

1.2

Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review

<1.0

Sportverletzung-Sportschaden

 

Strength and Conditioning

???

Strength and Conditioning Journal

 

Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal

 

Thomson Reuters is the publisher and copyright owner of the Journal Citation Reports®.
Impact Factors listed in this article are used with the express permission of Thomson Reuters.

Published Aug 2010. Updated Sept 2010.

©2010