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Research Impact

Author Metrics

Which metrics are available at the author level?

There are three measures associated with the author level metrics. The categories are the following:

  1. h-index: This is the largest number h such that at least h articles in that publication were cited at least h times each. | e.g. Sharon Bostick has h-index 8. This means that the author has published at least eight articles that have been cited at least eight times.
  2. i10 index: This is the number of the authors articles that have been cited at least 10 times | Sharon Bostick has i10-index 8. This means that at least 8 of her articles have been cited at least 10 times.
  3. citation counts: This is the sum of all the citations of the articles the author has published. | e.g. Sharon Bostick has Citations 1090. This means that if you add all the numbers that appear under Cited by (410+331+152+53+50+49+17+14+7+6+1=1090) you will find the Citation counts metric.

What is the rationale behind author metrics?

The central idea behind h-index, i10 index, and citation counts is that the more prolific the author, the higher the potential for the final index and citation counts are.

Which tools offer author level metrics?

There are several tools like proprietary databases and free online ranking resources & tools which offer metrics at the author level.

Check the tabbed box below to view tools offered in the above categories.

Web of Science (WoS) is a bibliometrics and citation analysis platform that comprises a collection of citation indexes, and provides access to reference and citation data from academic journals, conference proceedings, and other resources in various academic disciplines. It also provides author profiles with the h-index and citation counts of the authors.

1. Google Scholar is a freely available tool that traces the h-index,  i10-index, and citation counts. These metrics are available on the authors profiles. To locate an author's profile, type in the search box the author's name. If the profile is available it will appear at the top of the results list. Click the hyperlinked author's name, this will allow you to view the author's profile. The metrics overview are at the right top corner of the profile.

2. Scopus Preview is the free version of Elsevier’s Scopus abstract and citation database. Although, we do not subscribe to Scopus, you can still use a free version of it. Scopus traces citations and impact factors of articles in peer-reviewed journals in all subjects, and is especially strong in the sciences. To use Scopus Preview you can either create a free user login, or simply search following the “author search” option at the top of the screen. Ignore the message "Login required to access Scopus", you can use the free "Author search" at the top of the page anyway.

Publish or Perish  is a free software program that you can download on your computer. Anne-Wil Harzing  a professor of International Management is the creator of the tool. The program retrieves and analyzes academic citations. It uses a variety of data sources to obtain the raw citations, then analyzes these and presents a range of citation metrics, including the number of papers, total citations and the h-index.

Why is my h-index and citation counts lower in Web of Science & Scopus than in Google Scholar?

Google Scholar is a discovery tool and hence has a much wider coverage than Web of Science & Scopus, including gray literature items like theses and unpublished materials. These are content types that are not indexed in Web of Science & Scopus and therefore will not contribute to the h-index and citation counts so therefore, the Web of Science & Scopus metrics are likely to be lower.