![]()
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
Well done, the writing is professional without being stiff, and the topic is treated with care, and a look at signalcreatesmomentum reflected that approach, the kind of site I would point a colleague to if they asked for a reliable starting point on this topic in the future without any hesitation at all.
Solid quality, the kind of work that holds up to a careful read rather than a quick skim, and a quick look at directioncreatesleverage kept that standard going strong, content that rewards attention rather than punishing it is something I appreciate more and more these days online across nearly every topic I follow.
Following the post through to the end without my attention drifting once, and a look at claritycreatesflow earned the same uninterrupted attention, content that holds attention without manipulating it is content with substantive pull and this site has demonstrated that substantive pull across multiple pieces in a single reading session reliably here today.
Now planning to write about the topic myself eventually using this post as a reference, and a look at claritycreatesenergy would also serve in that future piece, content that becomes raw material for my own writing rather than just informing my reading is content with multiplicative value and this site is generating that multiplicative effect.
Felt this in a way I cannot quite explain, the topic just hit different here, and a stop at progressdrivenforward continued in that vein, sometimes you find a site whose perspective lines up with how you have been thinking and reading their work feels like a small relief which I appreciated more than I expected.
Reading this gave me confidence to make a decision I had been putting off, and a stop at actionshapesforwardpath reinforced that confidence, content that translates into action in my own life rather than just informing it is content with the highest practical value and this site is generating that action level utility for me lately.
Now adding this to a short list of sites I would defend in a conversation about the modern web, and a look at focusanchorsgrowth reinforced that defence list, the few sites that serve as evidence the web can still produce good things are precious and this one has clearly joined that small list of exemplary sites.
Closed it feeling slightly more competent in the topic than I started, and a stop at directionpowersprogress reinforced that competence boost, real learning is rare in casual online reading but it does happen sometimes and this site managed to make it happen for me today which is genuinely worth pausing to acknowledge.
Generally my attention drifts on long posts but this one held it through the end, and a stop at actiondrivesvelocity earned the same sustained focus, content that defeats my drift tendency is content with substantive pulling power and this site has demonstrated that pulling power across multiple pieces in a session that has now run quite long actually.
Took a quick scan first and then went back to read properly because the post deserved it, and a stop at claritycreatesleverage kept me reading carefully too, the kind of writing that earns a slower second pass rather than getting skimmed and forgotten is something I value highly when I happen to find it.
Honest opinion is that this is the kind of post that builds long term trust with readers, and a look at growthmoveswithstructure reinforced that perception, the slow accumulation of trust through consistent quality is the only sustainable way to build a real audience and this site is clearly playing that long game.
A piece that built up gradually rather than front loading its main points, and a look at progresscreatesmomentum maintained the same gradual structure, content that trusts the reader to reach conclusions through accumulating reasoning is more persuasive than content that announces conclusions and then defends them and this site uses the persuasive approach.