Methods of Demonstrating Article and Journal Impact

Faculty members preparing their dossiers typically need to demonstrate the impact of that portion of their research that has appeared in the journal literature. This article describes several methods of demonstrating article and journal impact. An article's impact can be shown by counting the number of citations it has received and by comparing that total to the number of citations received by other articles in the same volume. Journal impact can be demonstrated using the journal impact factor computed by ISI Thomson Research or the journal's acceptance rate. Journal prestige can also be demonstrated with the use of published lists from various sources, including research studies in the literature. A sample article is used as a case study to illustrate each method.