Commenced from 1975 and calculated based on the number of overall journal citations in a year divided by the number of citable publications in the preceding two years, Journal Impact Factor (JIF) became a convenient and conventional proxy to appraise a journal's trustworthiness and its scholarly impact in a given field (1). Nearly a year ago, Clarivate Analytics promised refinements in the provision of metrics of scholarly journals of the Web of Science (WOS) database. The 2023 edition of the annual Journal Citation Reports (JCR) finally debuted these appealing changes. Addressing their commitment to more stringent research integrity, they inaugurated the policy to assign JIF to all of their registered journals, including those indexed in the Emerging Source Citation Index (ESCI) and Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). Previously, JCR assigned JIF merely to journals in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) or the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) edition of WOS core collections. The expansion of JIF is commended as it is a decent solution to surmount hurdles associated with a lack of a consistent tool to evaluate all scholarly journals, especially contemporary ones that have emerged from the developing world and recently launched small publishers.
Regarding the Emergency Medicine (EM) category, 22 journals in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) attained JIF, adding up to the 32 journals of SCIE. For its first JIF allocation, the journal “Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine” (AAEM) was designated with a JIF of 5.4 and acceded to the 5th position in EM journals, standing after the highly prestigious journals of “World Journal of Emergency Surgery” (IF:8), “Resuscitation” (IF:6.5), “Annals of Emergency Medicine” (IF:6.2), and “Emergencias” (IF:5.5) and ranked as the first EM journal in Asia (Table 1 and 2)(2). Moreover, its position would rise to 4th EM journal worldwide when considering JIF without self-citation of 5.0, which exempts this journal from the probable nefarious editorial policies to increase its JIF bogusly (3).
Top 10 emergency medicine journals sorted by 2022 journal impact factor
| Journal Name | 2022 JIF | JIF Without Self Cites | 2022 JCI | JCI Quartile | AIS Quartile | Article Influence Score | Immediacy Index | Cited Half-Life | Total Citations | Citable Items | % of Articles in Citable items |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Journal of Emergency Surgery | 8.0 | 7.6 | 2.41 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.970 | 1.0 | 4.6 | 3,207 | 57 | 66.67 |
| Resuscitation | 6.5 | 5.3 | 1.87 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.913 | 1.5 | 6.7 | 18,032 | 224 | 90.18 |
| Annals of Emergency Medicine | 6.2 | 5.9 | 2.30 | Q1 | Q1 | 2.222 | 1.5 | 11.1 | 13,098 | 92 | 84.78 |
| Emergencias | 5.5 | 3.8 | 1.40 | Q1 | Q3 | 0.562 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 944 | 38 | 94.74 |
| Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine | 5.4 | 5.0 | 1.51 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.035 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 827 | 80 | 76.25 |
| Burns & Trauma | 5.3 | 4.8 | 1.70 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.080 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 1,643 | 54 | 61.11 |
| Academic Emergency Medicine | 4.4 | 4.1 | 1.56 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.459 | 0.8 | 10.4 | 10,838 | 95 | 72.63 |
| European Journal of Emergency Medicine | 4.4 | 3.2 | 1.03 | Q2 | Q2 | 0.849 | 1.3 | 6.9 | 2,176 | 45 | 82.22 |
| American Journal of Emergency Medicine | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.46 | Q1 | Q2 | 0.834 | 0.8 | 4.5 | 15,437 | 534 | 93.63 |
| Scandinavian Journal of Trauma Resuscitation & Emergency Medicine | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.32 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.044 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 3,826 | 72 | 91.67 |
JIF: Journal Impact Factor; JCI: Journal Citation Indicator; AIS: Article Influence Score.
Table 2.
Top 10 emergency medicine journals sorted by 5-year journal impact factor
| Journal name | 5-Year JIF | 5-Year JIF Quartile | 2022 JCI | JCI Quartile | AIS Quartile | Article Influence Score | Immediacy Index | Cited Half-Life | Total Citations | Citable Items | % of Articles in Citable items |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Journal of Emergency Surgery | 7.7 | Q1 | 2.41 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.970 | 1.0 | 4.6 | 3,207 | 57 | 66.67 |
| Burns & Trauma | 5.9 | Q1 | 1.70 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.080 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 1,643 | 54 | 61.11 |
| Annals of Emergency Medicine | 5.8 | Q1 | 2.30 | Q1 | Q1 | 2.222 | 1.5 | 11.1 | 13,098 | 92 | 84.78 |
| Resuscitation | 5.4 | Q1 | 1.87 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.913 | 1.5 | 6.7 | 18,032 | 224 | 90.18 |
| Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine | 4.5 | N/A | 1.51 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.035 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 827 | 80 | 76.25 |
| Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine | 4.5 | N/A | 0.38 | Q3 | Q1 | 1.116 | 0.2 | 4.5 | 1,015 | 40 | 82.50 |
| Academic Emergency Medicine | 4.0 | Q1 | 1.56 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.459 | 0.8 | 10.4 | 10,838 | 95 | 72.63 |
| Scandinavian Journal of Trauma Resuscitation & Emergency Medicine | 3.5 | Q1 | 1.32 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.044 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 3,826 | 72 | 91.67 |
| Emergency Medicine Journal | 3.2 | Q1 | 1.20 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.042 | 0.9 | 8.8 | 6,320 | 83 | 75.90 |
| Western Journal of Emergency Medicine | 3.1 | Q1 | 1.06 | Q1 | Q1 | 1.023 | 0.6 | 5.1 | 4,170 | 65 | 96.92 |
JIF: Journal Impact Factor; JCI: Journal Citation Indicator; AIS: Article Influence Score; N/A: not applicable.
Congruous with the JCR recommendation to adopt a multifaceted approach in appraising journals rather than solely relying on crude JIF, multiple indices should be contemplated when one attempts to gauge a journal's performance (4). The Immediacy Index indicates how rapidly an article is published in a JCR year, thus providing a glance at journal practices for augmenting publicity of its publication. The low rank of AAEM with an Immediacy Index of 0.3 alludes to the indispensable role of active presence in academic social networks (e.g., Linkedin, Researchgate, and Semantic Scholar).
Nevertheless, caution should be exercised when comparing ESCI journals with senior SCIE counterparts in employing some parameters. For instance, the cited half-life, defined as the median age of cited articles in a JCR year, is foreseeable to be lower for the nascent ESCI journals compared with the mature SCIE journals. Hence, we propose instituting a modified parameter adjusted for the journals’ date of establishment or the history of indexing in main databases to sustain an impartial ranking of journals and avert biased decisions by researchers, institutes, or publishers when evaluating a journal.
Finally, in order to draw attention to the potential future developments, we want to point out a consideration that might stay out of sight. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prime concern of research was to shed light on this disease's prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Consequently, the overall number of publications and subsequent citations soared, contributing to the inevitable high IF of journals during the pandemic, and the field of Emergency Medicine is not an exception (5). This claim is authenticated by the evident rise and subsequent piecemeal decline in the JIFs of the majority of journals in the SCIE collection before and after the pandemic. As support to this assertion, one can note the ongoing decrease in the proportion of articles about COVID-19 in eminent, highly cited journals such as the Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine, which further evince the impending drop of JIF for all journals in this field. Ultimately, we encourage all journals' editorial teams around the globe to apprehend the imminent fall in their JIF and avert the misperception that they ought to adopt more strict criteria in assessing submissions to maintain their JIF. Instead, they should devise strategies such as opting for and investing in trending topics in the post-COVID era and motivating other researchers to submit their valuable non-COVID studies.
Declarations:
Conflict of interest
None.
Funding and support
None.
Acknowledgment
We kindly appreciate Dr. Amir Mohammad Tolouei and Dr. Shayan Roshdi Dizaji for their valuable input and contributions to drafting this editorial.
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