Google Scholar Metrics updated: Now it begins to get serious

Abstract

In this paper we perform a first analysis of the new version of Google Scholar Metrics (November 2012). Significant improvements have been detected, such as the possibility of consulting the most prominent publications by areas and disciplines, although only for those in English language. The citation statistics have been updated to 15 November 2012. Also the original set of journals has been modified along with the journal impact indicators, which has resulted on the entry of new journals. Finally, another major issue is the change of policy regarding the processing of documents indexed in repositories. Despite the improvements made, Google Scholar Metrics remains an inadequate product for scientific journal evaluation due to its methodological shortcomings.