<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<style>
<!--
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma}
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"}
span.EmailStyle17
{font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext}
span.BalloonTextChar
{font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"}
.MsoChpDefault
{font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"}
@page WordSection1
{margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt}
div.WordSection1
{}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-ZA" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.0pt; background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#444444">Journal Impact Factor. For some it is one of the most important metrics of an article’s scientific credibility. For others, it is just an aberration
that does not measure anything but “prestige”. One thing is for sure, the IF has become a great headache for the entire scientific community, which has no idea how to deal with it. The problem is that despite the strong conviction that the IF does not measure
the value of a scientific article, it can still influence the reputation of researchers and have an influence on their careers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.0pt; background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#444444">This growing problem was reflected in the recently published
<a href="http://am.ascb.org/dora/" target="_blank">“San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment”</a>, signed by 75 science organizations and 150 scientists, who expressed their opposition to judging scientists by the impact factor of the journal they publish
in — rather than by the work they actually do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.0pt; background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#444444">This is of course only one of the many voices in this discussion that is sweeping through the scientific community. It is worth mentioning the research
conducted by George A. Lozano, Vincent Larivičre and Yves Gingras. In the paper,
<a href="http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1205/1205.4328.pdf" target="_blank">“The weakening relationship between the Impact Factor and papers’ citations in the digital age”</a>, they show that since the 90s, when the Internet experienced rapid growth within
the scientific community, the relationship between IF and citations began to weaken.
<a href="http://www.nouvelles.umontreal.ca/udem-news/news/20121107-study-reveals-declining-influence-of-high-impact-factor-journals.html" target="_blank">
According to Vincent Larivičre:</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.0pt; background:white"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#444444">“In 1990, 45% of the top 5% most cited articles were published in the top 5% highest impact factor journals. In 2009, this rate was only 36%. This
means that the most cited articles are published less exclusively in high impact factor journals.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://openscience.com/the-big-if-is-journal-impact-factor-really-so-important/">http://openscience.com/the-big-if-is-journal-impact-factor-really-so-important/</a>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kind regards</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ina</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="color:black">Ina Smith</span></b><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">E-Research Repository Manager (SUNScholar) |
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">Stellenbosch University | Private Bag X5036, 7599 | South Africa</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="http://scholar.sun.ac.za/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">SUNScholar</span></a></span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">
| </span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="http://library.sun.ac.za/English/services/az/oa/Pages/sunjournals.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">SUNJournals</span></a></span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">| </span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="http://library.sun.ac.za/Afrikaans/services/az/oa/Pages/sunconferences.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">SUNConferences</span></a></span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">
| </span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">E-mail: </span>
<b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="mailto:ismith@sun.ac.za" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">ismith@sun.ac.za</span></a></span></b><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">
</span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">|<b> </b>
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">Tel: +27 21 808 9139 |
</span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D">Skype: smith.ina</span></b><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">
</span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">| </span>
<span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">Office hours: Mo-Fr: 08h00-16h30</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="AF" style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">E-Navorsingsbewaarplekbestuurder (SUNScholar) | Universiteit Stellenbosch | Privaatsak X5036, 7599 | Suid-Afrika</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="http://scholar.sun.ac.za/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">SUNScholar</span></a></span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">
| </span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="http://library.sun.ac.za/English/services/az/oa/Pages/sunjournals.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">SUNJournals</span></a></span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">| </span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="http://library.sun.ac.za/Afrikaans/services/az/oa/Pages/sunconferences.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">SUNConferences</span></a>
| </span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">E-pos:
</span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D"><a href="mailto:ismith@sun.ac.za" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1F497D">ismith@sun.ac.za</span></a></span></b><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">
</span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060">| T</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">el: +27 21 808 9139 |
</span><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#1F497D">Skype: smith.ina</span></b><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:#002060"> |
</span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; line-height:115%; color:black">Kantoorure: Mo-Fr: 08h00-16h30</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="45%" style="width:45.78%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="50%" valign="bottom" style="width:50.16%; background:white; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm">
</td>
<td width="0%" valign="top" style="width:.14%; background:white; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm">
</td>
<td valign="top" style="background:white; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm"></td>
<td valign="top" style="background:white; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm"></td>
<td width="49%" valign="top" style="width:49.16%; background:white; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm">
</td>
<td width="0%" nowrap="" valign="top" style="width:.14%; background:white; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm">
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="color:#1F497D"><img border="0" width="353" height="26" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CE65B5.A6FB5C20" alt="Description: cid:image004.jpg@01C9FFC1.4A20BBC0"></span></i></b><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<br>
<hr>
<font face="Arial" color="Gray" size="1"><br>
E-pos vrywaringsklousule Hierdie e-pos mag vertroulike inligting bevat en mag regtens geprivilegeerd wees en is slegs bedoel vir die persoon aan wie dit geadresseer is. Indien u nie die bedoelde ontvanger is nie, word u hiermee in kennis gestel dat u hierdie
dokument geensins mag gebruik, versprei of kopieer nie. Stel ook asseblief die sender onmiddellik per telefoon in kennis en vee die e-pos uit. Die Universiteit aanvaar nie aanspreeklikheid vir enige skade, verlies of uitgawe wat voortspruit uit hierdie e-pos
en/of die oopmaak van enige lęers aangeheg by hierdie e-pos nie. E-mail disclaimer This e-mail may contain confidential information and may be legally privileged and is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are notified that you may not use, distribute or copy this document in any manner whatsoever. Kindly also notify the sender immediately by telephone, and delete the e-mail. The University does not accept liability for any damage, loss or expense arising
from this e-mail and/or accessing any files attached to this e-mail. <br>
</font>
</body>
</html>