Citation Ranking Versus Subjective Evaluation In The Determination Of Journal Hierarchies In Information Science

Abstract

A lot of interest has been generated by research on problems associated with ranking journals according to their relative importance. The publication of Journal Citation Reports has served as an updated ranking indicators based on citation analysis. These indicators have been shown to have significant correlations with researcher\'s evaluations of the relative importance of journals in the biomedical sciences, but not in the physical sciences. This paper examines the situation in library and information science and finds a strong correlation between librarian and information scientist evaluations of journal ranking and particular citation rank indicators. This suggests that Journal Citation Reports could prove a valuable tool to journal selection for libraries and information systems and could aid authors in the discipline to decide in publishing in reputable journals with highest ranking

Global Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 39-42