Author-level metrics help track an individual researcher's impact in an academic discipline. This is traditionally calculated by using the number of times their scholarly publications are cited by other researchers. These impact factors can help in promotion and tenure, as well as aiding in funding and grants.
The h-index, developed in 2005 by J.E. Hirsch, is one of the most widely used author-level-metrics that quantifies research output by measuring author productivity and impact. For a researcher to have an h-index, they must have a certain number of publications (h) that have received at least h citations. For example, an h-index of 15 means the researcher has at least 15 publications that have been cited at least 15 times each.
Advantages and disadvantages of the h-index
To find an author's h-index in Scopus, do the following:
To find an author's h-index in Web of Science, do the following:
To find an author's h-index in Google Scholar, do the following:
The g-index, created by Leo Egghe as a response to the h-index, is an author-level metric which places greater weight on highly-cited articles. You can view an author's g-index by downloading a free citation analysis software program called Publish or Perish.
The i10-index was created by Google Scholar as an index to rank author impact. Simply, it is the number of publications the researcher has written that have at least 10 citations.
Advantages and disadvantages of the i10-index
To locate an author's i10-index, do the following:
In order for an author to have their scholarly research included in the i10-index, the author must first have created a public Google Scholar profile. To create a profile in Google Scholar, visit Google Scholar Citations and click on Set up your Google Scholar Profile.
