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Otra vez los índices de impacto y su significado
En este blog he insistido en el hecho de que ya no se evalúa la ciencia por lo que se publica, si no dónde se publica y nos limitamos a «sumar» o «promediar» índices de impacto (Impact Factor, IF) de las revistas en las que se publica en vez de valorar el artículo individualmente. También he insistido en que los IFs se usan «alegremente», muchas veces sin conocer su significado real.
Hoy traigo a esta página un ejemplo espectacular que nos tiene que hacer reflexionar sobre el valor que puede tener el IF de las publicaciones científicas.
Se acaba de publicar el IF correspondiente a los artículos publicados en 2008. Y hay un cambio espectacular. La revista Acta Crystallographica Section A (Foundations of Crystallography) ha aumentado su IF en casi 25 veces, pasado de un digno 2’05 a un espectacular 49’93. ¿Por qué ha sido esto? ¿Ha aumentado la calidad de los artículos publicado? ¿Ha aumentado la exigencia del editor?
NO. La razón es que se ha publicado un artículo excelente y que toda la comunidad cristalográfica llevaba años esperando: A short history of SHELX por George M. Sheldrick, el «inventor» del programa SHELX, que es la herramienta computacional fundamental para refinar estructuras cristalográficas. Este artículo ha sido citado 6653 veces (a 25 de junio de 2010), con casi 6000 citas entre 2008 y 2009.
El segundo artículo más citado de Acta Crystallographica Section A ha sido citado 31 veces, el 10º más citado, 11 veces; hay 17 artículos que han sido citado 2 o una vez y hay 19 artículos que no han sido citados (de un total de 72 artículos publicados en 2008).
Como ya he pedido en este blog, leamos las publicaciones y veamos cuanto se ha citado cada artículo individualmente; especialmente, cuando tengamo que evaluar CVs para plazas, contratos, etc. Si seguimos teniendo en cuenta solo el índice de impacto de las revista, cometeremos injusticias. Si no cambiamos el sistema, solo me queda felicitar a los que hayan publicado en 2008 en Acta Crystallographica Section A, pues tendrán artículos con un IF de casi 50, aunque nunca haya sido citado.
P. D.: Por cierto, os habréis fijado que, sin cambiar prácticamente, la revista ha pasado de ser casi despreciada por los que solo publican por índice de impacto a ser una revista «excelente».
Bernardo Herradón
IQOG-CSIC
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Picked this for my morning read because the topic seemed worth the time, and a look at businesssynergyhub confirmed the choice was right, my morning reading slot is precious and giving it to this site felt like a good investment rather than a waste which is a higher endorsement than I usually offer for content.
Reading this slowly and letting each paragraph land before moving on, and a stop at growthoriented earned the same patient approach, content that rewards slow reading rather than speed is content with real density and the writers here are clearly producing work that benefits from the careful eye rather than the rushed scan.
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Reading this back to back with a similar piece elsewhere made the quality difference obvious, and a stop at capitalbondcircle only widened the gap, comparing content side by side is a useful exercise and the gap between this site and average competitors in the space is large enough to be noticeable from the first paragraph.
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Solid value for anyone willing to read carefully, and a look at claritystarter extends that value across the rest of the site, this is the kind of place that rewards return visits rather than offering everything in a single splashy post and then leaving readers nothing to come back for later which is unfortunately common.
Will be passing this along to a few people who would benefit from the perspective shared here, and a stop at momentumtrack only added to what I will be sharing, this kind of generous content deserves to circulate widely rather than getting buried in some search engine algorithm tweak that pushes it down the rankings.
Most blog writing on this subject reaches for the same handful of arguments and this post avoided them, and a look at ideatoimpact continued the original treatment, content that finds its own path through territory other writers have flattened is content with real authorial energy and this site has plenty of that distinctive energy.
Speaking carefully because I do not want to overstate things this site is genuinely above average across multiple measurements, and a stop at claritydrivesmomentum continued the above average performance, the calibration of judgement against potential overstatement is something I take seriously and this site clears the higher bar even after that calibration applies.
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Well done, the kind of post that makes you slow down and actually read instead of skimming for keywords, and a look at progressdriver kept me reading carefully too, that is a sign of writing that has been crafted rather than churned out for an algorithm to see today and tomorrow.
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If I had encountered this site five years ago I would have been telling everyone about it, and a look at directionpowersmovement extended that retrospective enthusiasm, the version of me who used to recommend favourite blogs frequently would have made sure friends knew about this one and that earlier enthusiasm is partially returning to me here.
Granted I am giving this site more credit than I usually give new finds, and a look at professionalgrowthbond continued earning that credit, the calibration of how much trust to extend after limited exposure is something I do carefully and this site has earned more trust on shorter exposure than most due to consistent quality across.
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Considered alongside other sources I have been reading this one consistently rises to the top, and a stop at growthflowsbydesign maintained that top ranking, the informal ongoing comparison between sources is something I do whenever reading on a topic and this site keeps coming out near the top of those comparisons over many sessions.
Thanks again for the post, I learned a couple of things I can actually use later this week, and after I went over actionbuildsforwardpath the rest of the site looked equally promising, definitely going to spend more time here when I get a free moment over the weekend to read more carefully.
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Reading this gave me the rare experience of fully agreeing with all the conclusions, and a stop at visionalignment continued that agreement pattern, content that aligns with my existing views without seeming designed to do so is just content that happens to be reasonable and this site reads as reasonable rather than ideological mostly.
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Top tier post, the kind that makes you want to share the link with friends working in the same area, and a stop at visionprogression only made me more confident in doing that, this site is one of the better resources I have seen on the topic recently across both new and older posts.
Started reading and ended an hour later without realising the time had passed, and a look at professionalbondnetwork produced the same time dilation effect, when content makes time feel different the writer has achieved something well beyond the average and this site is producing that experience for me reliably across multiple readings.
Closed it feeling I had taken something away rather than just consumed something, and a stop at claritydrivenchoices extended that taking away feeling, the difference between content I extract value from and content I just pass through is something I track informally and this site is consistently in the value extraction column for me.
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Felt like the post had been edited rather than just drafted and published, and a stop at strategicgrowthbond suggested the same care across the site, the difference between edited and unedited content is enormous for the reader and this site has clearly invested in the editing pass that most blogs skip entirely which really does show up.
If I were to recommend a starting point for the topic this site would be near the top of my list, and a stop at focusdefinesmomentum reinforced that recommendation status, the small list of starting point recommendations I keep for friends asking about topics is short and this site is now firmly on it.
Approaching this with the usual skepticism I bring to new sites and being slowly persuaded, and a stop at globaltrustalliance continued that gradual persuasion, the careful path from skeptical reader to genuine fan is the only one I trust and this site has walked me along that path through patient consistent quality across pieces.
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I appreciate the clarity here, everything is explained in simple terms without unnecessary detail, and after a quick stop at focusactivation the points came together nicely for me, the writing keeps things straightforward and respects the reader from start to finish without ever talking down to anyone.
The use of plain language without dumbing down the topic was really well done, and a look at claritymovement continued in that same accessible style, this is something many technical writers fail at because they either confuse their readers or condescend to them but here neither problem appears at all which is impressive really.
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Reading this confirmed that the topic deserves more careful attention than it usually gets, and a stop at growthflowswithsignal extended that elevated framing, content that raises the appropriate weight of a subject without being preachy about it is serving a quiet but important editorial function for the broader cultural conversation about it.
Glad I gave this fifteen minutes rather than the usual three minute skim, and a look at claritystrategy earned the same investment, time spent on quality content is rarely wasted but the reverse is also true and learning which sites deserve which kind of attention is part of being a careful online reader.
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Got pulled in by the headline and stayed because the content actually delivered on the promise, and a stop at actiondrivesdirection kept that trust intact, when a site lives up to its own framing it earns the right to keep showing up in my browser tabs going forward indefinitely from here on out really.
Now adding a small note in my reading log that this site is one to watch, and a look at signalpowersgrowth reinforced the watch status, the few sites I track deliberately rather than encounter accidentally are sites I expect ongoing returns from and this one has cleared the bar for that elevated tracking based on what I read.
Picked this for a morning recommendation in our company chat, and a look at progressactivator suggested I will mention this site again later, recommending content into a workplace context is a small editorial act that requires confidence in the recommendation and this site is making me confident in those recommendations consistently here too.
Just want to record that this site is entering my regular reading list, and a look at claritynavigator confirmed it deserves the spot, my regular reading list is short and well curated and adding to it requires meeting a fairly high quality bar that this site has clearly cleared without much effort apparently.
Came across this looking for something else entirely and ended up reading it through twice, and a look at directionalstructure pulled me deeper into the site than I planned, the writing has a way of holding attention without resorting to manipulative cliffhangers or vague promises that never get delivered later down the page.