Implications of a Single Highly Cited Article on a Journal and Its Citation Indexes: A Tale of Two Journals

Abstract

Citation indexes such as journal impact factor are increasingly used to evaluate the quality of a scholarly work and/or assess one's scientific contributions. However, this simplistic approach has increasingly been refuted with publication gaming and incorrect applications to rank one's academic significance. These indexes are being game not only by researchers but also subtly by journal editors. Although the attention drawn from the public pertaining to such misbehaviors from editors is limited, the associated implications cannot be undermined. In this article, the focus will be on the motivations, impacts, and lessons learnt from how single highly cited article can have on the reactions from and the reputation of two academic journals: Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica and Acta Crystallographica Section A. For the former, it adopted an unconventional approach to improve its prominence in the field while the latter reiterates the correct and the original intent of citation indexes, as well as the importance of good editorial governance. From these incidents, few considerations are proposed to assist in minimising the recurrence of possible publication gaming in the editorial process. However, the inherent ethical values of an individual should still take precedence of any preventive measure.

Keywords:

• bibliometric data
• indexing
• publication ethics
• research integrity
• research misconduct