Chasing after the high impact

Abstract

In this paper, I present the perspectives of a young non-native English speaking scientist from a southern European country (Greece) on the impact factor system that is commonly used to assess the performance of countries, institutions, and scientists, including the role this plays in the selection of a journal to which to submit a manuscript. Although young scientists may not always be aware of the advantages and pitfalls of the impact factor system when it comes to the choice of which journal to submit to, journal ranking is among the selection criteria, following the journal's general scope and rapid manuscript handling but preceding choice of a journal which allows authors to suggest potential referees, and open access journals. The impact factor system is briefly criticised and some improvements are suggested, such as adjustment among scientific disciplines, accounting for the number of authors and the position of an author among them as well as including a page (or word) count. © Inter-Research 2008.