Neuro-Oncology is pleased to announce that its most recent Impact Factor number (published annually by Thomson Scientific in the Journal Citation Reports) demonstrates superb stability of editorial quality during a period of rapid and marked change. The 2009 Impact Factor of 4.984 is marginally lower than the 2008 number (5.000), showing that the rate at which Neuro-Oncology articles are cited has been maintained, even as the number of articles published has risen dramatically.
The Impact Factor is just one measure meant to represent a journal's quality (in fact, Thomson Scientific publishes several metrics, including a Five-Year Impact Factor and an Immediacy Index). The Impact Factor for a particular year is calculated by dividing the number of articles published in the two previous years into the number of citations to those articles in the current year (that is, the 2009 number was calculated by dividing the number of citations in 2009 to articles published in 2007 and 2008 by the total number of articles published in those years).
It is worth noting that in 2007, Neuro-Oncology was still being published quarterly; our publication frequency jumped to bimonthly starting in 2008, with a concomitant increase in the number of scientific articles (from 46 in 2007 to 76 in 2008). We were pleased to see, then, that the rate at which our articles are cited remains steady, despite our very aggressive growth. We interpret this stability as a representation of the scientific quality and significance of our publications and our commitment to publishing the highest quality articles in the field.
We are also proud to note that Neuro-Oncology's 2009 rankings place it in the top 20% of both oncology journals (where it is ranked 26th of 165 journals) and clinical neurology titles (where it is 17th of 167 journals). The table summarizes our performance over the last 4 years.
As always, we invite you to join us in ensuring that the journal remains at the top of its game by contributing as reviewers, authors, and critics.
Neuro-Oncology impact factors and rankings
| Year | Impact factor | Ranking among oncology titles | Ranking among clinical neurology titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 4.984 | 26th of 165 | 17th of 167 |
| 2008 | 5.000 | 25th of 141 | 15th of 156 |
| 2007 | 5.806 | 16th of 132 | 6th of 146 |
| 2006 | 4.939 | 23rd of 127 | 14th of 146 |