The feasibility of developing and implementing journal usage factors: a research project sponsored by UKSG

Abstract

ISI's journal impact factors (IFs), based on citation data,have become generally accepted as a valid measure of the quality ofscholarly journals, and are widely used by publishers, authors, fundingagencies and librarians as measures of journal quality. There are,nevertheless, misgivings about an over-reliance on impact factor alonein this respect and there is growing interest in the development ofusage-based alternatives to citation-based measures of journalperformance. Against this background, the United Kingdom Serials Group(UKSG) thought it would be timely to sponsor a study to investigate thefeasibility of journal usage factors. This article describes the aims ofthe study, the results obtained and the conclusions drawn. There appearsto be significant support, even among established publishers whosejournals perform well in impact factor rankings, for the development andimplementation of journal usage factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]