A review of the development and application of the Web impact factor

Since 1996, hyperlinks have been studied extensively by applying existing bibliometric methods. The Web impact factor (WIF), for example, is the online counterpart of the journal impact factor. This paper reviews how this link‐based metric has been developed, enhanced and applied. Not only has the metric itself undergone improvement but also the relevant data collection techniques have been enhanced. WIFs have also been validated by significant correlations with traditional research measures. Bibliometric techniques have been further applied to the Web and patterns that might have otherwise been ignored have been found from hyperlinks. This paper concludes with some suggestions for future research.