american medical student research journal impact factor

Publishing: Opportunities for Students & Residents

• Opportunities for Students & Residents
• Choose a Journal
• Predatory Publishers
• Medical Narratives
• Measuring Impact

Publishing Opportunities for Students & Residents

Publishing your work as a student or resident is a great addition to your CV and helps to establish your reputation in the field. However, top-tier medical journals are highly selective and only accept a small fraction of the submissions they receive. If you are new to publishing, you may want to consider submitting your work to a journal listed below that encourages submissions from students and residents.

To learn more about the article writing process, please review the Medical Library's guide to research, writing and publishing:

• Research, Writing & Publishing Guide

Case Report Journals

• Medical Journals that Accept Case Reports List of medical journals that accept case reports. Journals included on the list must currently accept case reports, be fully indexed in MEDLINE, and publish English language submissions.
• Case Report Journals (Excel file) Complete list of medical journals dedicated to publishing case reports, sortable by medical specialty, author fee requirement, and whether the journal is listed in PubMed. Compiled by Wayne State University; updated 4/25/2019.
• BMJ Case Reports BMJ Case Reports delivers a peer-reviewed collection of cases on common and rare conditions in all disciplines. Authors are required to have a fellowship code when completing the manuscript submission form. Email [email protected] to request the College of Medicine's institutional fellowship code.
• Flagship: Medical Scholarly Proceedings Supported by FSU College of Medicine and several other Florida colleges, FLAGSHIP: Medical Scholarly Proceedings is committed to enhance the professional development of medical trainees, clinicians and medical educators by publishing state-of-the-art clinical, basic science and medical education research.
• Akers, K. G. (2016). New journals for publishing medical case reports. Journal Of The Medical Library Association, 104(2), 146-149. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.104.2.010 List of journals publishing medical case reports (compiled in 2016).

Florida Medical Journals & Magazines

• Florida Family Physician Florida Family Physician is a journal published by the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.
• Florida Medical Magazine Florida Medical Magazine is a biannual publication for Florida Medical Association (FMA) members. The magazine provides articles on topics including practice management, emerging payment/practice models, legal issues, physician lifestyle and FMA advocacy.
• The Florida Pediatrician Journal The Florida Pediatrician is the peer-reviewed journal of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The journal accepts review articles, case reports, and research articles written by students and residents.
• The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice Published by Nova Southeastern University, The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice is an internationally peer-reviewed, open-access, scholarly, online journal dedicated to the global exploration of allied health professional practice, research, and education.

Journals for Students & Residents

The following journals welcome submissions from students and residents.

• American Medical Student Research Journal Created by medical students, this journal is authored, reviewed, and edited by medical students working under the guidance of faculty members.
• Cooper Rowan Medical Journal CRMJ is an open-access, partially student-run, peer-reviewed journal encompassing research authored by medical students, graduate-level allied healthcare students, and residents/fellows.
• The Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine The EJBM is a student-run, faculty peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary biomedical journal. The journal accepts a wide range of scholarly material by students, residents, and faculty.
• Harvard Medical Student Review The HMSR is a student-run journal designed to provide a platform for students to contribute to important issues facing health and medicine. Scholarly articles, editorials, and original artwork are considered.
• Harvard Public Health Review HPHR invites submissions from students and faculty across academic disciplines, as well as from members of the general public that elucidate pertinent and timely public health issues within an evidence-based and health equity framework.
• International Journal of Medical Students IJMS is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal, created to share the research and experiences of medical students worldwide.
• Journal of Graduate Medical Education This peer-reviewed journal publishes scholarship that promotes critical inquiry to inform and engage the graduate medical education community to improve the quality of graduate medical education.
• PLOS ONE PLOS ONE is an international peer-reviewed, open-access online publication that welcomes reports on primary research from any scientific discipline.
• PRiMER Peer-Reviewed Reports in Medical Education Research (PRiMER) is an open access scholarly journal of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. PRiMER is focused on publishing small, rigorously designed original research briefs in medical education and health workforce policy, as well as learner research.
• The BMJ The BMJ incorporates student articles as part of their ‘BMJ Student’ journal section. Medical students and newly qualified doctors are invited to submit pitches for articles on issues related to medical student life, career planning, and education.

Submit to BMJ Case Reports for Free

FSU faculty, staff, and students can submit to BMJ Case Reports for free. Email  [email protected]  to obtain a fellowship code before you submit. Please note, FSU alumni are not eligible to use the FSU fellowship code.

FLAGSHIP: Medical Scholarly Proceedings

Flagship  is a research journal channel supported by medical schools across Florida to increase submissions from students, medical residents, and faculty.

• Next: Choose a Journal >>
• Last Updated: Jul 19, 2024 1:35 PM
• URL: https://med-fsu.libguides.com/publishing

Maguire Medical Library Florida State University College of Medicine 1115 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL 32306 Call 850-644-3883 (voicemail) or Text 850-724-4987 Questions? Ask us .

NOTICE: USF Health Libraries will be closed for the winter break Dec. 21st - Jan.1st, 2024.

• Give to USF Health
• Patient Care
• USF Libraries  
• Sarasota-Manatee

Shimberg Health Sciences Library Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange

Shimberg health sciences library & florida blue health knowledge exchange, usf health libraries hours of operation, medicine research guide.

• Statistics Resources
• Consumer Health/Patient Education
• Citing Sources
• Journal Evaluation
• Organizing your Paper
• Finding a Journal
• Journal Influence (Impact Factor)
• ORCID & Other Digital Researcher IDs
• Student/Resident Journals
• Resident & Fellow Resources This link opens in a new window
• Biomedical Research
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Business in Medicine
• International Medicine
• Law & Medicine
• Medical Education
• Medical Humanities
• Nutritional Research & Health
• Medicine & Gender
• Public Health

FLAGSHIP: Medical Scholarly Proceedings

• FLAGSHIP: Medical Scholarly Proceedings A research journal supported by medical schools across Florida, including USF, to provide another option for peer-reviewed publication created by students, medical residents, and faculty.

Student Journals

This is just a sample of the journals that publish work by Medical Students.

• AMA- Where to publish: Top journals for physicians in training This resource contains links to the Submission Requirements for the linked databases and is the source of the descriptions. There is also additional guidance on publishing as a student.
• Harvard Medical Student Review The Harvard Medical Student Review is student-founded, student-managed and student-administered, under the guidance of faculty and staff. Its mission is to provide a platform for students to contribute to important issues facing health and medicine through a variety of formats, including scholarly articles, editorials and original artwork.
• Harvard Public Health Review This publication seeks diverse research interests that addresses issues of health equity and invites submissions from students and faculty across academic disciplines.
• International Journal of Medical Students The International Journal of Medical Students is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal created to share the research and experiences of medical students worldwide.
• Student BMJ Launched in 1992, this international journal publishes articles that have been commissioned with medical students in mind.
• Medical Student Research Journal A journal authored, reviewed, edited, and published by medical students for medical students. It is dedicated to promoting the scientific achievements of medical students, teaching principles of peer and article review, and providing editorial, publishing and leadership learning experiences.
• Res Medica A peer-reviewed Journal of the Royal Medical Society. They accept articles written by medical students and clinicians covering clinically relevant topics.

Resident & Fellows Journals

This is just a sample of the journals that publish work by Residents & Fellows.

• American Journal of Psychiatry Residents' Journal The American Journal of Psychiatry, serves as a forum for psychiatry residents and fellows to share ideas and experiences in training, clinical practice, research, and careers with colleagues.
• Journal of Graduate Medical Education The Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME) disseminates scholarship and promotes critical inquiry to inform and engage the graduate medical education community to improve the quality of graduate medical education. It is a peer-reviewed, editorially independent journal published by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
• Postgraduate Medical Journal (BMJ) A peer-eviewed journal published by BMJ on behalf of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. PMJ publishes papers that focus on core competencies; describe current practice and new developments in all branches of medicine; describe relevance and impact of translational research on clinical practice; provide background relevant to examinations; as well as papers on medical education and medical education research.

Case Reports

• Case Report Journal List- Excel from Wayne State Complete list of medical journals dedicated to publishing case reports, sortable by medical specialty, author fee requirement, and whether the journal is listed in PubMed. Updated 4/25/2019.
• << Previous: ORCID & Other Digital Researcher IDs
• Next: Resident & Fellow Resources >>
• Last Updated: Jul 16, 2024 3:05 PM
• URL: https://libraries.health.usf.edu/medicine

• Renew Materials
• Pay a Library Fee
• Solutions Hub
• DMU Homepage
• Course Reserves
• Collections A-Z
• How to Find Materials
• Board Review Study Materials
• Bones and Anatomical Models
• Student Checkout Policy
• Pay A Library Fee
• Recommend A Resource
• Apply for a Student Job
• Research Appointment
• Paper Writing and Citation Help
• Information Literacy Program
• Checkout Policy
• Library Liaisons
• Faculty Services Guide
• Textbook Adoption Form
• Request an Instruction Session
• Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
• Search Library FAQs
• Library Guides (LibGuides)
• DMU Historical Archives
• Public Access & Scanning
• Citation Tools
• Coming Soon! Institutional Repository
• Library Consult Reference Service
• About the Library
• Library Mission & Vision
• Library Hours
• Library Location
• Library Staff
• Circulation Policies
• Donation Guidelines
• Ask Us for Help
• Help Finding Resources
• Access to Resources On & Off Campus
• Library Tutorials
• Public Access Computer/Visitor Guide

Find Journals To Publish Your Research: Student Friendly Publishing Options

• Locate Respected Journals
• "Best Match" Services
• Student Friendly Publishing Options

Student Focused Journals

Did you write a case report? DMU can help you get published.  See our guide to BMJ Case reports to learn more about this fantastic option!

• BMJ Case Reports

For students interested in getting published, there are a few places that are friendly for student primary authors.

Read more about medical student journals:

• Abu-Zaid A. A graduate's perspective on medical student journals . J Postgrad Med. 2019 Jul-Sep;65(3):169-170. doi: 10.4103/jpgm.JPGM_278_19. PMID: 31267987; PMCID: PMC6659430.
• Abu-Zaid A. Reply to article "Where do medical student authors submit their work?" . Educ Health (Abingdon). 2020 Jan-Apr;33(1):24-25. doi: 10.4103/efh.EfH_189_19. PMID: 32859877.
• Alamri Y. How do medical student journals fare? A global survey of journals run by medical students. Educ Health (Abingdon). 2016 May-Aug;29(2):136-41. doi: 10.4103/1357-6283.188756. PubMed PMID: 27549653. 
• Wan JC, McMurran CE, Teo AE. Student-run medical journals: Supporting the future of medical academia. Med Teach. 2016 Oct;38(10):1072. Epub 2016 Aug 30. PubMed PMID: 27573163.
• << Previous: "Best Match" Services
• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2024 8:24 AM
• URL: https://lib.dmu.edu/su/getpublished

International Journal of Medical Students

About the Journal

The International Journal of Medical Students ( IJMS ) is an open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal (ISSN 2076-6327 ) that publishes original research and experiences in all fields of medicine. The IJMS was created in 2009 to share scientific production and experiences where there is at least one author enrolled as a medical student (including MBBS students, MD students, DO students, MD/MSc students, and MD/PhD students) in any medical school in the world or a recently graduated physician. These early-career scientists must be accompanied by a senior researcher that must be also responsible for the research, guaranteeing the quality of the work. The IJMS aims to be the leading publication platform for early-career scientists' medical research. Read more in the About the Journal section .

Current Issue

• Volume 12; Issue 2

Credits & Content

Cover, credits, & content, transforming toxic research cultures: protecting the future of medical students and early career researchers – part i, original article, antibiotic use awareness and practices in the indian community during later stages of covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey, blindness disparities between racial/ethnic groups in the state of texas, a cross-sectional survey of instagram to assess quality and reliability of information regarding tuberculosis, determining the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in post-menopausal women of eluru, andhra pradesh, india, using the menopause rating scale (mrs), learning of intimate area examination amongst pakistani medical students: knowledge, attitudes, and practices study, leveraging a podcast series for nutrition education in medical curriculum, skipping breakfast is associated with shorter sleep duration in medical students, exploring the impact of covid-19 on the healthcare system and vulnerable populations in the united states, the factors causing stress in medical students and their impact on academic outcomes: a narrative qualitative systematic review, case report, a case report of bardet biedl syndrome in a patient from pakistan who presented with osmotic symptoms associated with diabetes mellitus, disseminated tuberculosis with testes involvement: an intriguing case report, continuous rifampicin therapy induced acute kidney injury in a tuberculous patient: a case report, a medical student experience as an acting intern in colorectal surgery, conducting research as a medical student: a need for change, silent suffering: recognizing and addressing the emotional impact of patient loss on medical students.

If you are experiencing issues logging in, please delete the cache memory of your internet browser and try again.

Make a Submission

Information.

• For Readers
• For Authors
• For Librarians

Announcements

Submit your research to the ijms world conference of medical student research (wcmsr).

Dear IJMS Readers,

New Issue Published at the International Journal of Medical Students

Dear readers,

Journal impact factors

Announcing the latest impact factors.

The journal impact factor (JIF), as calculated by Clarivate Analytics, is a measure of the average number of times articles from a two-year time frame have been cited in a given year, according to citations captured in the Web of Science database.

The 2023 JIF (released in 2024), for example, was calculated as follows:

A = the number of times articles which published in 2021–2022 were cited in indexed journals during 2023

B = the total number of research and review articles from the journal published in 2021–2022

2023 JIF = A/B

This listing includes only journals that have a 2023 JIF. For a full list of journals published by APA, please visit the Journals homepage to browse our portfolio by title or subject.

Journal Title	2023 JIF	2023 5-Year JIF	Journal Citation Reports Subject Category
	2.3	3.8
	12.3	16.2
	2.4	2.9
	1.6	2.0
	1.3	2.4
	1.1	1.5
	2.9	4.2
	1.2	--
	4.7	7.8
	0.9	--
	1.9	1.8
	3.2	3.8
	1.0	--
	3.1	5.0
	0.8	1.6
	3.4	4.5
	1.1	--
	2.4	2.6
	1.2	1.9
	1.8	2.4
	3.1	4.9
	1.1	0.8
	2.1	4.4
	9.4	11.8
	2.8	4.7
	1.1	1.6
	4.5	6.3
	3.8	5.5
	2.5	3.1
	5.6	6.7
	1.2	1.4
	2.7	3.0
	3.7	4.7
	2.1	2.6
	2.2	2.9
	2.3	3.3
	2.1	2.6
	0.6	0.9
	1.6	1.3
	5.9	11.7
	6.4	9.2
	3.1	7.8
	1.8	2.6
	1.0	1.7
	2.4	3.2
	3.0	--
	2.6	3.1
	0.9	1.4
	3.0	3.5
	1.5	2.0
	1.8	2.3
	1.0	1.2
	3.3	4.9
	17.3	30.3
	7.6	11.5
	5.1	8.0
	1.9	2.9
	2.7	5.6
	3.7	3.8
	3.2	3.7
	2.7	4.9
	1.4	--
	2.7	3.0
	2.1	3.0
	2.2	2.9
	3.6	--
	2.4	4.1
	2.3	2.4
	0.6	--
	2.6	4.6
	11.7	--
	1.9	3.2
	3.9	3.2
	1.4	1.7
	2.7	--
	1.8	2.2
	1.9	--
	2.3	--

Following the release of the  2023 Journal Citation Reports (JCR)  from Clarivate Analytics, APA Publishing is pleased to report that Journal Impact Factors (JIFs) have been assigned to 89% (79) of our titles. Among our ranked journals, 24% are in the top 10 of their categories and 46% are in their category’s top quartile.

Notably, 15 APA-published journals indexed in Clarivate’s  Emerging Sources Citation Index  received their first-ever category rankings this year, including:

• Qualitative Psychology  (11.7 JIF; ranked 7 of 218 in Multidisciplinary Psychology; published on behalf of  The Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, a section of APA Division 5 )
• Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice  (1.9 JIF; ranked 24 of 66 in Family Studies; published on behalf of APA Division 43:  Society for Couple and Family Psychology )
• Stigma and Health  (2.7 JIF; ranked 27 of 76 in Social Psychology and 136 of 403 in Public, Environmental, & Occupational Health)
• Translational Issues in Psychological Science  (1.9 JIF; ranked 47 of 92 in Psychology and 92 of 218 in Multidisciplinary Psychology)
• Traumatology  (2.3 JIF; ranked 70 of 180 in Clinical Psychology, 73 of 218 in Multidisciplinary Psychology, and 131 of 276 in Psychiatry; published on behalf of the  Green Cross Academy of Traumatology )

Twenty APA-published titles saw an increase in their JIF, and 31 journals rose in rank within their category. Twenty-six journals rose in quartile within their category. Some examples include the following:

• Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics saw a 129% increase in its JIF, rising from 0.7 to 1.6 and jumping in rank from 135th to 109th in the Multidisciplinary Psychology category (and from 344th to 273rd in the Economics category)
• History of Psychology saw a 120% increase in its JIF, rising from 0.5 to 1.1 and jumping in rank from 140th to 132nd in the Multidisciplinary Psychology category (and from 27th to 10th in the History of Social Sciences category).
• Asian American Journal of Psychology , published on behalf of the Asian American Psychological Association, saw a 60% increase in its JIF, rising from 1.5 to 2.4 and jumping in rank from 104th to 65th in the  Multidisciplinary   Psychology category (and from 13th to 6th in the Ethnic Studies category).

Other portfolio highlights:

• APA publishes 4 journals in the top 10 of the large and diverse  Psychology, Multidisciplinary  category:  Psychological Bulletin  (ranking 3rd out of 218 journals, 17.3 JIF),  American Psychologist  (ranking 6th, 12.3 JIF),  Qualitative Psychology (ranking 7th, 11.7 JIF; published on behalf of The Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, a Section of APA Division 5), and Psychological Methods  (ranking 10th, 7.6 JIF).  
• Five more APA journals are ranked in the top quartile of the Psychology, Multidisciplinary  category:  Psychological Review  (ranking 19th, 5.1 JIF),  Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity  (ranking 27th, 3.6 JIF; published on behalf of APA Division 44:  Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity ), Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (ranking 39th, 3.2 JIF; published on behalf of APA Division 50: Society of Addiction Psychology ), Motivation Science (ranking 44th, 3.0 JIF, published on behalf of Society for the Science of Motivation ), and Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne   (ranking 46th, 2.9 JIF; published on behalf of the Canadian Psychological Association ).
• Psychological Bulletin  remains the journal with the highest JIF in APA’s portfolio (17.3 JIF). In addition to ranking 3rd out of the 218 journals in the  Psychology, Multidisciplinary  category, it also ranks 3rd out of the 92 journals in the  Psychology  category.
• Two APA journals rank in the top 20 of the  Psychology, Applied  category:  Journal of Applied Psychology  (ranking 3rd, 9.4 JIF) and  Journal of Occupational Health Psychology  (ranking 12th, 5.9 JIF).  Journal of Applied Psychology  earned the most all-time citations (51,849) in this 113-journal category.
• Psychoanalytic Psychology  (1.0 JIF), published on behalf of APA Division 39:  Division of Psychoanalysis , ranks 4th of the 13 titles in the  Psychology, Psychoanalysis  category, marking over a decade in the category’s top quartile.
• Four APA titles rank in the top 25 of the  Psychology, Experimental  category:  Journal of Experimental Psychology: General  (ranking 9th of 99, 3.7 JIF), Emotion  (ranking 12th, 3.4 JIF), Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition   (ranked 23rd, 2.8 JIF; published on behalf of Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition), and  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts  (ranking 25th, 2.7 JIF; published on behalf of APA Division 10:  Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts ).
• Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology  ranks 3rd for all-time citations (20,413) in the 180-journal Psychology, Clinical  category.

Six APA titles rank in the top quartile of that category, including Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice (ranking 13th, 4.7 JIF; published on behalf of APA Division 12:  Society of Clinical Psychology ), Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (ranking 17th, 4.5 JIF), and Health Psychology (ranking 36th, 3.1 JIF, published on behalf of APA Division 38:  Society for Health Psychology ).  

Four APA titles rank in the top 25 of the  Psychology, Educational  category:  Journal of Educational Psychology  (ranking 3rd out of 74, 5.6 JIF),  Journal of Counseling Psychology  (ranking 11th, 3.8 JIF),  School Psychology  (ranking 5th, 3.9 JIF, the journal’s highest rank and JIF to date; published on behalf of APA Division 16:  School Psychology ), and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education (ranking 24th, 2.5 JIF; published on behalf of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education ).

Journal of Educational Psychology  received a total of 20,586 citations, the second highest in the category.

• Journal of Personality and Social Psychology  (6.4 JIF) again earned the most all-time citations (79,644) in the competitive  Psychology, Social  category and ranked 4th of 76 journals, marking over a decade as one of the top 5 journals in this category.

Showcasing the breadth and depth of our program, journals published by APA are also highly ranked in 23 categories related to psychology found in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Science Citation Index Expanded. Some examples include the following:

• Humanities, Multidisciplinary :  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts  (2.7 JIF), published on behalf of APA Division 10: Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, is ranked number 2 out of the 146 journals in the  Humanities, Multidisciplinary  category.
• Ethnic Studies :  Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology  (3.2 JIF), published on behalf of APA Division 45:  Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race , retained its number 1 ranking out of the 39 journals in the growing  Ethnic Studies  category. We are proud to see this journal as the established go-to source for research on critical societal issues.
• Religion :  Psychology of Religion and Spirituality  (2.2 JIF), published on behalf of APA Division 36:  Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality , is ranked 4th out of the 339 journals in  Religion , a category in Clarivate’s Arts and Humanities Citation Index.
• Social Work :  American Journal of Orthopsychiatry  (2.3 JIF), published on behalf of the  Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice , ranks 8th out of the 91 titles in the expanding  Social Work  category.
• Rehabilitation : Two APA journals indexed in the  Rehabilitation  category remain in the category’s top two quartiles:  Rehabilitation Psychology  (ranking 56th out of 73, 1.9 JIF) and  Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal  (ranking 66th, 1.8 JIF).
• Communication :  Psychology of Popular Media  (2.1 JIF) is ranked 59th out of the 227 journals in the  Communication  category.
• Criminology & Penology :  Psychological Violence  (2.4 JIF) remains in the top quartile of the  Criminology & Penology  category, ranking 14th out of 113.
• Law: The two APA journals listed in the Law category remain in the category’s top 10% by JIF. Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law (2.3 JIF) is ranked 24 of 421 journals. Law and Human Behavior (2.4 JIF), published on behalf of APA Division 41: American Psychology-Law Society, is ranked 20th of 421 in the Law category, putting it in the top 5% of Law journals.
• Management :  Journal of Applied Psychology  (9.4 JIF) remains in the top quartile of the competitive  Management  category, ranking 14th out of 401 journals. The journal also has the highest total citations in the category (51,849).

APA Publishing is grateful to our editors, authors, reviewers, and publishing partners for their dedication to scholarship. Thank you for publishing with APA Journals.

• APA publishing resources
• Reviewer Resource Center
• Editor resource center
• Why publish with APA Journals™
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion in APA Journals™

APA Publishing Insider

APA Publishing Insider is a free monthly newsletter with tips on APA Style, open science initiatives, active calls for papers, research summaries, and more.

Visit the APA Style website for style and grammar guidelines, free instructional aids, reference examples, the APA Style blog, APA Style products, and more.

Contact Journals

Medical Student Research Journal

Michigan state university college of human medicine.

Growth and Experiences of a Student-Led Patient Navigation Program Serving Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Please find below the third article featured in our Winter 2024 Issue, enjoy!

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/MSRJ262_final.pdf

Background : Those experiencing homelessness face disproportionately large barriers in access to healthcare. Patient Navigation is a service that provides disadvantaged populations with guidance through healthcare systems. Acting as a patient navigator is found to help enhance learning in the pre-clinical years of medical school. Developed by medical students, the Patient Navigator Program (PNP) pairs medical students trained as patient navigators with individuals experiencing homelessness. The uniqueness of this program lies in its fully student-run format, simultaneously providing individuals experiencing homelessness with longitudinal navigation services toward self-defined goals and medical students with exposure to a disadvantaged and underserved population in their early years of medical school. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the growth and student experiences of PNP from its inception and inform those who aim to develop similar student-run patient navigation programs.

Methods : Participation metrics in the program were extracted from volunteer records, and five 30-min student leader semi-structured interviews were conducted using open-ended questions to investigate the experiences of those who developed the program. Interviews were transcribed, and responses were categorized by themes.

Results : Enduring involvement in PNP over years was demonstrated quantitatively through participation metrics and qualitatively through interviews. Positive aspects of participation in PNP were meeting and working with other students, utilizing their creative vision in developing the program, learning about those experiencing homelessness and the local resources available to them, shaping career goals and academic interests, and learning the soft skills necessary for medical clerkships. Negative experiences primarily revolved around time constraints of the program in addition to their academic responsibilities. Commonly stated advice included identifying an appropriate faculty mentor and building strong relationships with community partners.

Conclusions : Participation in PNP was felt to be beneficial both personally and professionally. Reporting these perspectives and experiences will provide insight to future student-led programs at other institutions.

Uncommon Presentation of Benign Dermatofibroma of Thigh: A Case Report

Here’s the second article featured in our Winter 2024 Issue, enjoy!

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/MSRJ263_final.pdf

Abstract: Dermatofibromas (DF) are small, noncancerous skin lesions typically found in the dermis layer of the skin and are often composed of a variable combination of inflammatory cells, which classically present as a firm, nonpainful, skin-colored nodule on the extremities or trunk. We present a case of a 53-year-old woman with a medical history of psoriasis who had bilateral leg swelling, erythema, and dry skin for which she underwent a punch biopsy of the left thigh. The punch biopsy sample was found to be a dermatofibroma, which was negative for malignancy or atypia. The skin rash and associated symptoms were due to Candida intertrigo, which was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and fluconazole. Following this, she was discharged and prescribed a course of fluconazole and linezolid for continued treatment of Candida intertrigo. This case report describes a rare presentation of benign dermatofibroma.

Medical Students’ Perspectives on Pregnant or Parenting Peers: A Cross-Sectional Survey

We’re back after some technical difficulties! Big thanks to everyone for their patience. Please find below the first addition to our Winter 2024 Issue, enjoy!

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/MSRJ257_final.pdf

Purpose: Limited institutional resources exist for pregnant and parenting medical students; however, students’ opinions regarding pregnancy in medical school have not been reported. The authors assessed medical students’ perspectives regarding pregnant or parenting peers and underlying bias or resource gaps.

Methods: An online, cross-sectional survey was distributed in October 2022 to medical students at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (n = 806) to explore demographics, bias, family planning, and available resources. Descriptive analyses, a two- tailed t-test comparing female and male responses, and a one-way analysis of variance test comparing medical school classes were used.

Results: The survey response rate was 13.2% (n = 106). Few respondents (n = 4, 3.8%) had been pregnant during medical school. The majority (n = 67, 71.3%) indicated family plans influence specialty choice. Furthermore, 78.0% (n = 42) cited career and education as their reason for choosing to delay pregnancy. Other descriptive analyses identified that 80.0% (n = 75) of respondents were not aware of resources available for pregnant or parenting classmates. Also, 13.0% (n = 12) of respondents had witnessed bias toward a pregnant medical student. Differences in opinions between males and females were present regarding bias and support available. Differences between medical student classes also exist regarding opinions indicating pregnancy as a barrier during school. The statements with the strongest overall agreement were: Pregnant medical students are resilient, face additional challenges, and parental leave should be available in medical school.

Conclusion: This study provides new information regarding pregnancy opinions in medical school and highlights pregnant medical students’ challenges and biases. We revealed common delays in pregnancy due to career or educational choices and uncovered the strong consensus among students that parental leave should be an option. Support efforts are warranted to decrease biases and offer parental leave to promote equity and inclusion.

Physiopathology of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: A Literature Review

Please enjoy this new addition to our Fall Issue!

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/u ploads/2023/11/MSRJ254_final.pdf

Introduction: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is an infection by mycobacteria in any part of the body other than the lungs. There is information on tuberculosis infection from more than 3,000 years ago, and despite the knowledge that there is about the disease, nowadays, it is estimated that a quarter of the world population is infected and 15% of the cases are extrapulmonary.

Aims: This literature review aims to present the physiopathology of the most common EPTB, update and summarize the current diagnostic and therapeutic advances for the EPTB reviewed, as well as describe the physiopathological implications of coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Methods: A literature review was performed for which PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were consulted using the following keywords: Tuberculosis, Epidemiology, Physiopathology, Diagnosis, and Therapy. Only articles published from 2016 to 2022, evaluated with a score ≥ 10 based on the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) score were included, obtaining a total of 38 bibliographic sources.

Discussion: Depending on the system or organ affected, it is how the physiopathological process is carried through as well as how the clinical features manifest and the diagnostic approach is made. The diagnostic and therapeutic strategies of each type of EPTB have been widely studied; however, although technological innovation has contributed to the development of new diagnostic techniques, the treatment of almost all EPTB has remained the same over time, which consists of the same 6-month regimen of therapy as in pulmonary tuberculosis. Furthermore, tuberculosis treatment has been severely affected by rifampicin resistance and concomitant HIV infection.

Conclusion: The physiopathology of the different EPTBs is well described; nevertheless, a better understanding of how the disease spreads and develops will allow us to create new diagnostic resources and improve therapeutic targets for this disease, which still has a substantial presence worldwide.

Impact of Imposter Phenomenon on Medical Learners and Clinicians: A Scoping Review

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/upl oads/2023/11/MS RJ251_final.pdf

Objective: The imposter phenomenon (IP) is the belief that one does not deserve success. Medical students, residents, and physicians experience IP at significant rates, often due to the stress of mastering the extensive diagnostic information and treatment modalities as well as the competitive nature of medicine. We aimed to identify the main factors of IP in medical students, residents, and physicians in the available literature to increase awareness of IP in medical education.

Methods: In this scoping review, PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Northern Lights Conference Abstracts, and Dissertations & Theses databases were systematically searched for relevant studies published before June 2020. Articles that examined IP in medical students, residents, and attending physicians were retained. References were hand- searched following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. Extracted data were tabulated to summarize characteristics and main findings from each study. Content analysis of this table identified major themes in the available literature.

Results: Twenty-four journal articles published between 1978 and 2020 were included. Three main themes were identified, including specific demographic characteristics of IP (n = 14), the professional impact (n = 10), and the psychological impact (n = 17) of IP. For demographic characteristics, IP was higher in older individuals (n = 3), racial and/or ethnic minorities (n = 2), and women (n = 12). Married individuals experienced less IP (n = 2). For professional impact, IP increased during career transitions or professional challenges (n = 8). For psychological impact, IP was associated with reduced self-esteem (n = 7), a negative self-concept (n = 2), increased self-doubt (n = 3), and perfectionism (n = 3). Depression, anxiety (n = 3), and burnout (n = 6) were also heightened with IP.

Conclusion: Results revealed a multitude of factors influencing IP. Increased awareness of the presence, impact, and severity of IP assists medical educators to combat its negative effects. Further research is needed to improve treatments for IP in this population and to better understand the impact of IP on diversity, career trajectory, and career satisfaction in medicine.

Use of telehealth for cancer screening in primary care during COVID-19: an analysis of the Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance Survey 2022

http://msrj.chm.msu.ed u/wp-content/uploads/ 2023/11/MSRJ247_final.pdf

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused rapid uptake of telemedicine in primary care settings affecting cancer screening.

Objective: This study aimed to understand provider perception of future cancer incidence and telehealth feasibility in cancer screening.

Methods: Data were gathered and analyzed as part of the 2020 Council of Academic Family Medicine’s (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA) survey for primary analysis. The 2020 General Member COVID Survey examined demographics, the impact of faculty isolation, E-learning experience, cancer screening during COVID-19, and outpatient prenatal care. Survey participants were practicing family medicine physicians who were members of one of the CAFM organizations, with a response rate of 14.5%. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the relationship between telehealth sufficiency and provider age or year they earned their highest degree. Logistic regression evaluated the relationship between telehealth sufficiency and institution type.

Results: 54% of respondents believe that there will be an increase in late-stage cancer. Respondents whose practice settings were not affiliated with medical schools were 1.94 times more likely to feel that telehealth would not be sufficient for cancer screenings in the future (odds ratio [OR] = 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28, 2.93).

Conclusion: While our study shows that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care physicians believe there will be an increase in later stage cancer; they can also use telehealth to adequately maintain cancer screening practices. This research serves as a starting point to understanding where, in cancer screening, telehealth can be useful and how practitioners can provide high-quality hybrid care.

When Cannabis Use Goes Wrong: An Epidemiologic Study of Cardiopulmonary Symptoms in Patients That Present to Emergency Departments

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MSRJ242_final.pdf

Background: Increased availability and use of cannabis in Michigan have led to a marked increase in emergency department (ED) visits associated with the drug’s adverse cardiopulmonary effects. However, few people are aware of these potential cardiopulmonary side effects. Recognition of these presenting symptoms is critical for emergency clinicians to provide timely and effective care, make accurate diagnoses, and safeguard the health of patients who may be experiencing toxic effects from cannabis use.

Study objective: To describe the prevalence, clinical features, and disposition of cannabis cardiopulmonary toxicity in a community- based study.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients diagnosed with toxicity related to cannabis use. Patients were seen at eight EDs over a 26-month study period (November 2018–December 2020). Affiliated institutions included three university-affiliated hospitals, a children’s tertiary care facility, and four rural medical centers. Data collected included demographics, clinical features, and treatment outcomes in patients presenting to the ED with cardiopulmonary symptoms (CPS) versus those experiencing other forms of cannabis toxicity.

Results: During the study period, 1,174 patients were evaluated for cannabis toxicity. A total of 318 patients (27.1%) had a cardiopulmonary chief complaint (CPS group) and 856 (72.9%) experienced other forms of cannabis toxicity, predominantly symptoms of intoxication, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, or neuropsychiatric complaints. The CPS group presented with tachycardia (36.5%), dyspnea (34.3%), chest tightness (28.6%), palpitations (17.9%), and hypertension (8.2%). CPS patients were more likely to be older (32.6 vs. 24.3 years, p < 0.001), ingested edible cannabis (36.8% vs. 9.2%, p < 0.001), and have a history of polysubstance abuse (17.6 vs. 12.0%, p = 0.013). These patients also had a longer ED length of stay (4.9 vs. 3.8 h, p < 0.001) and significantly more hospital admissions (10.1% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.027).

Conclusions: Cardiopulmonary toxicity is common after acute or chronic cannabis exposures, occurring in over one-quarter of ED patients in this community-based study. These troublesome findings highlight the risks associated with using cannabis for recreational or therapeutic purposes.

Volume 11: Special Fall 2023

Welcome to our special fall issue! This publication contains the abstract from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s Midwest Regional Meeting held in Grand Rapids, MI on September 14, 2023. Please enjoy!

http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MSRJ_Vol-11-Special-Fall-2023_final.pdf

Volume 10: Spring 2023 Issue

Thank you to our authors, cover artist, peer reviewers, faculty reviewers, and mentors for making this issue possible. We appreciate your support and commitment to promoting the scientific achievement of medical students.

https://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/MSRJ_Vol-10-Spring-2023.pdf

Do Probiotics Prevent Gestational Diabetes in Obese/Overweight patients? A Systematic Review

The final article to be included in our Spring 2023 issue is linked below. Enjoy!

https://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/236-ePub-final.pdf

Introduction:  While some studies suggest probiotic supplements may prevent Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), it is unclear if probiotics effectively prevent GDM among overweight and obese patients. This systematic review synthesizes recommendations for clinical practice and future research by evaluating the quality of evidence regarding  Lactobacillus  and  Bifidobacterium  containing probiotics to prevent GDM among obese and overweight patients. 

Methods:  PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched using appropriate MeSH terms. Results were limited to randomized controlled trials published between 2011-2021. Titles and abstracts were screened for relevance after duplicates were removed. Included studies diagnosed GDM according to by International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group criteria, suspended probiotic use prior to intervention, excluded participants with altered glucose metabolism, included participants with a BMI ≥25kg/m2, and provided a specified dose of probiotic supplements. Articles without statistical analysis were excluded. Resulting articles were critically appraised using Version 2 of the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool.

Results:  This search strategy resulted in 24 articles after duplicates were removed. Five double- blind randomized controlled trials found the incidence of GDM during the third trimester was not significantly different between probiotic and control groups. There was wide variation in the bacterial species, dose and duration of probiotic treatments used. All studies have a high risk of bias due to non-adherence to the treatment.

Discussion:  This review used a highly sensitive criteria for GDM diagnosis that may mask a preventative effect of probiotics. Non-compliance may bias results towards the null given insufficient analysis of the effect of adhering to the intervention. No patterns between length of probiotic intervention or probiotic species and improved glucose tolerance were noted.

Conclusions:  Current evidence is not sufficient to recommend probiotic supplements to prevent GDM in overweight and obese patients. Future evidence should address the effect of adhering to probiotic interventions and develop consistent probiotic intervention protocols.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• J Gen Intern Med
• v.37(7); 2022 May

Measures of Impact for Journals, Articles, and Authors

Elizabeth m suelzer.

1 Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI USA

Jeffrey L. Jackson

2 Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI USA

Journals and authors hope the work they do is important and influential. Over time, a number of measures have been developed to measure author and journal impact. These impact factor instruments are expanding and can be difficult to understand. The varying measures provide different perspectives and have varying strengths and weaknesses. A complete picture of impact for individual researchers and journals requires using multiple measures and does not fully capture all aspects of influence. There are only a few players in the scholarly publishing world that collect data on article citations: Clarivate Analytics, Elsevier, and Google Scholar (Table ​ (Table1). 1 ). Measures of influence for authors and journals based on article citations use one of these sources and may vary slightly because of differing journal coverage.

Citation Databases

Organization	Product	Years	Platform	Details
Elsevier	Scopus	1970–present	SCImago	Contains citation information from over 39,000 journals; continually adding older content; covers 240 academic disciplines; requires subscription
Clarivate	Web of Science	1900–present	Journal Citation Report	Contains citation information from over 21,100 journals; covers over 250 academic disciplines; requires subscription
Google	Google Scholar	Not provided	Google Scholar	Freely accessible product of Google; collects citation and reference information using web crawlers that roam through websites containing scholarly information.

Individual Authors

Researchers make contributions to their fields in many ways: through education, advocacy, mentorship, collaboration, reviewing grants and articles, editorial activities, and leadership. For better or worse, their impact is usually based on the number of research articles they publish and how often those articles are cited. Some activities, such as writing editorials for leading journals, book chapters, or other clinical texts; testifying before Congress; or helping to shape government or health system policy, can be highly influential, but not credited in these measures of influence.

A common problem authors have in determining their impact is duplicate names, either from being inconsistent in the name they use (e.g., Jackson JL vs Jackson J) or name changes. There are several ways to establish a persistent and unique digital identifier. Researchers should take advantage of all.

ORCID ( www.orcid.org )

Many funders require an ORCID identifier as part of grant submission. ORCID is free, and all authors can sign up to create a unique identifier. ORCID does not track measures of impact, but cooperates with other sites that do by maintaining a list of publications that authors can review for completeness and accuracy.

ResearcherID ( www.researcherid.com )

This site provides a unique identifier and pulls information from Web of Science (Clarivate) to generate an h -index. It has a dashboard that generates a Web of Science author impact plot, provides authors a year-by-year report on impact, and generates a “citation” map that shows the location of citations. ResearcherID is also used by Publons, another Clarivate product, that tracks peer review and editorial activity. Access requires a subscription.

Scopus and Web of Science

Scopus and Web of Science are independent sites that create unique identifiers for authors based on proprietary software. Identifiers are automatically assigned and may result in the creation of more than one identifier, particularly if authors have had multiple affiliations, have a common name, have changed names, or have been inconsistent in their name. Authors can review the identifiers assigned and merge different listings. Access to these databases requires a subscription.

In addition, authors can create a Google Scholar account, which will also track and assess author impact. Google Scholar is free. Authors should regularly review their account to make sure their article list is accurate.

Measures of Impact for Authors

There are a number of different measures of individual author impact; each has strengths and weaknesses (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). All are limited in that they do not account for author effort and order. Most can be skewed by self-citation and favor those who have been publishing longer. 2

Author Measures of Influence

Measure	How calculated	Strengths	Weaknesses
-index	Number of articles ( ) that have been cited times	Easy to calculate Combines quality/quantity	Skewed by self-citation Does not account for author order or effort Biased against early-career authors
-index	Sum citations of top articles and take the square root and round	Easy to calculate Combines quality/quantity	Skewed by self-citation Does not account for author order or effort Biased against early-career authors Highly influenced by high-impact articles
i-10-index	Number of articles that have been cited at least 10 times	Easy to calculate Combines quality/quantity	Favors productivity over quality Does not account for author order Biased against early-career authors Ten citations are an arbitrary cut-point
iCite	Field and time adjusted and benchmarked against median for NIH–funded publications	Provides a benchmark Not biased against early-career authors	Difficult to calculate Highly influenced by high-impact articles
Altmetrics	Weighted measure based on 15 sources	Accumulates quickly Provides measure of societal/cultural interest Provides a different perspective on article/author influence than citations	May not predict importance Not predictive of citations Evolving measures Reflects “popular” topics Can be gamed by using “popular” terms in title Uncertain how to use measures
PlumX analytics	Provides metrics in 5 categories: citations, usage, captures, mentions and social media.

H-Index , developed by Jorge E. Hirsch in 2005, is defined as the number of published papers that have been cited at least h times. 3 An h -index of 40 means th.e author has 40 articles cited at least 40 times. This simple metric is widely used for evaluating an authors’ impact. Citation databases like Web of Science, Scopus (Elsevier), and Google Scholar provide h -index information in their author profiles, though the reported h -index may vary due to citation coverage. The h -index favors authors that publish a continuous stream of papers with persistent, above-average impact. It measures the cumulative impact of an author’s work and combines quantity and quality. However, it does not account for the author effort and order, is biased against early-career researchers with fewer publications, and can be skewed by self-citation.

G-Index , created in 2006 by Leo Egghe, is defined as the largest number such that the top “ g ” articles received together at least g 2 citations. 4 This metric favors highly cited articles; a single highly cited article will increase the g -index considerably, while only increasing the h -index by 1.

i-10-Index , calculated by Google Scholar, is a straightforward metric that shows the number of publications with at least 10 citations.

Measures of Impact for Individual Articles

This is an NIH dashboard of bibliometrics for articles. iCite has three modules: Influence, Translation, and Open Citations. Influence is based on a relative citation ratio (RCR), comparing article citations to the median for NIH–funded publications, the value of which is set at 1.0. Among NIH–funded studies, the 90 th percentile for RCR is 3.81. Among all studies, the 90 th percentile is 2.24. Individual paper influence is reported and can be used to select manuscripts that best represent one’s work. Translation provides a measure of translation from bench to bedside by breaking down whether most of the author’s publications are molecular/cellular, animal, or human. Citations provide a count of the total citations and give citation statistics (mean, median, SE, maximum) as well as a list of the citing articles for each paper.

Alternative measures of influence

There are measures of influence of individual articles that are not based on citations. They provide a snapshot of article impact in a number of alternate venues, such as public policy documents, news articles, blogs, and social media.

Altmetric tracks more than 15 different sources, including public policy documents, news articles, blog posts, mentions in syllabi, reference managers, and social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. The results are weighted; some sources, such as news articles, get greater weight. For example, in 2020, the weights of the various sources were news stories: 8, blogs: 5, Q&A forums: 2.5, Twitter: 1, Google: 1, and Facebook: 0.25. Altmetrics can be displayed as a “badge,” a symbol with a number in the middle of a circle with the strands colored to reflect the elements that went into the score. Researchers can sign up to create an altmetric badge for their articles ( www.altmetric.com ). To create a badge, the article must have a DOI number. Altmetrics for any specific article reflects popular interest in the topic rather than scientific importance. At JGIM, article altmetrics do not correlate with citations. Altmetrics can accumulate quickly; many metrics, such as Twitter and Facebook mentions, tend to occur within days of publication, while citations can take years. Altmetrics can be applied to scholarly products other than research publications, such as curricula and software. However, altmetrics can be gamed; “popular” topics tend to get more play than others. It is still unclear how to use altmetrics; most rank and tenure committees do not include these measures in promotion deliberations.

PlumX Analytics

PlumX gathers metrics into 5 categories: citations, usage, captures, mentions, and social media. Citations include traditional citations as well as ones that may have societal impact, such as policy documents. Usage measures views, downloads, and measures of how often the article is read. Captures indicate that a reader is planning on coming back to the article; it can indicate future citations. Mentions refer to news articles, blog posts, and other public mentions of the paper. PlumX Social Media refers to tweets and Facebook likes and shares, among several sources. It provides a picture of how much public attention articles are getting. PlumX analytics suffer from the same issues as altmetrics and citations. PlumX analytics are embedded in several platforms, including Mendeley, Science Direct, and Scopus and on many open-access journal platforms.

Measures of Impact for Journals

Historically, there were many reasons why certain journals rose to the top: highly respected editors, a long publishing history, and a track record of influential work policy makers and clinicians cared about. In 1975, Thompson Reuters debuted SCI Journal Citation Reports , ranking journals based on article citations. 5 Subsequently, this has been the primary basis for journal prestige.

Journal evaluation metrics that use citation data favor some disciplines over others. Disciplines vary widely in the amount of research output, the number of citations that are normally included in papers, and the tendency of a discipline to cite recent articles. 6 For example, Acta Poetica focuses on literary criticism. Its impact factor would be a poor measure of the journal’s influence. In addition, one needs to consider where the evaluation tool is collecting their data. Databases like Web of Science and Scopus may have stronger coverage of some disciplines, impacting the citation metrics that are generated. 6

Some resources assign journals to subject categories, making it possible to compare journals within their discipline. A good analogy is points scored in sporting events. Seven points in American football is a poor offensive outing, while 7 points in European football is a juggernaut. Comparing journals within the same discipline provides better information about the journal’s relative importance.

Journal Citation Reports

Journal Impact Factor (JIF). This is published annually by Clarivate and uses citation data from Web of Science. It has been the “gold standard” for measuring journal impact since its creation. 7 Journal editors nervously await release of their impact factor every summer. The JIF is calculated by dividing the total number of citations in the previous 2 years by the number of “source” articles published the following year. JGIM had 2810 citations in 2020 for articles published in 2018 and 2019; 548 of these articles were categorized as source material. Dividing 2810/548 yields our 2020 impact factor of 5.128. Not everything journals publish is considered source material. Clarivate does not provide guidance to journals on how they decide what types of material to count. In general, letters and editorials are not included. JGIM falls in the Medicine, General & Internal and the Health Care Sciences & Services categories, ranking 27 th and 11 th , respectively, in each. Seeking high JIF has led some journals to reduce the number of articles they publish, increase the amount of non-source papers, and focus on work they believe will be highly cited. The JIF is also susceptible to journal self-citation.

Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) is a normalized metric that debuted in 2021; a score of 1.0 means that journal articles were cited on average the same as other journals in that category. 8 JGIM has a JCI of 1.48 (Table ​ (Table3), 3 ), meaning we have a 48% more citation impact than other journals in our category. Based on the JCI, JGIM ranks 23 rd in Medicine, General & Internal and 15 th in Health Care Sciences & Services.

Journal Measures of Impact

Measure	JGIM score	How calculated	Strengths	Weaknesses
Impact factor	5.13	Number of citations in a given year to articles published in the previous 2 years, divided by the number of source articles	Easy to calculate Combines quality/quantity	Can be gamed by journals Not a measure of quality Not all citation types are counted Skewed by journal self-citation Clarivate is vague about criteria for articles to be counted as source articles Not all journals have an impact factor Favors journals that publish systematic reviews
Citation indicator	1.48	Normalizes the impact factor compared to other journals in that category	Gives a context for a specific journal Combines quality/quantity
5-year impact factor	6.07	Average number of citations over 5 years, divided by the number of source articles	Easy to calculate Combines quality/quantity Provides a measure of how long article influence is sustained
Immediacy index	1.86	Number of citations occurring in the same year of publication	Easy to calculate Combines quality/quantity Provides information on how quickly research is incorporated
Eigenfactor	0.029	Number of journal article citations over 5 years, factoring in the impact factor of the citing journal	Freely available Takes into account quality of journal citing article Covers 5 years Excludes journal self-citations	Assigns journals to 1 category. Difficult to interpret. Similar to raw citation counts. 5 years may be too long Favors disciplines with high-impact journals
Normalized eigenfactor score	6.07	Normalizes the eigenfactor score so that the mean is 1.0	Normalized Same as eigenfactor
Influence score	2.58	Calculated by multiplying the eigenfactor by 0.01, dividing by the number of articles in the journal, normalized a mean of 1.0	Provides measure of influence Normalized Same as eigenfactor
CiteScore	4.9	Calculated by dividing the number of citations to documents (articles, reviews, conference papers, book chapters, and data papers) over 4 years by the number of articles published by the journal during the index year	Longer time allows time for citations to occur Sources are transparent Updated monthly
Scimago journal rank	1.75	Citations of articles in 1 year to articles over 3 years, weighted by the prestige of the citing journals	Updated annually	Favors fields with high-impact journals Susceptible to self-citation
Source normalized impact per paper	1.47	Measures actual citations relative to citations expected for the field	Normalized	Favors journals that publish more review articles Not as reliable for journals that publish fewer articles Sensitive to outliers
Scimago -index	180	Number of cited articles at least times in past 5 years	Easy to calculate. Combines volume/quality	Includes self-citations Favors established researchers
H-5 index	65	Number of cited articles at least times in past 5 years	Easy to calculate

* Source articles: articles that are counted in the denominator

5-Year Impact Factor is the average number of times articles published in the previous 5 years were cited in the indexed year. It gives information on the sustained influence of journal publications. JGIM’s 2020 score was 6.070, meaning that articles published in 2014–2019 were cited an average of 6 times in 2020.

Immediacy Index is the number of citations that occur in the year of publication. Journals with high immediacy index scores are rapidly cited. JGIM has a score of 1.861. This measure has been criticized for penalizing articles published later in the year.

Eigenfactor Score , a metric created in 2007 by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West of the University of Washington, is based on the number of times articles from a journal over the past 5 years have been cited in the indexed year and gives citations in highly cited journals more weight than lesser cited ones. Self-citations by the journal are excluded. JGIM’s 2020 eigenfactor score was 0.02895. This measure suffers from being difficult to understand.

The Normalized Eigenfactor Score provides a normalized metric of the Eigenfactor Score, setting a score of 1 as the average for all journals. Like the Eigenfactor Score, citations that come from highly cited journals carry more weight than citations from less cited journals and journal self-citations are excluded. JGIM’s score is 6.07, meaning that JGIM was sixfold more influential than the average journal in the Web of Science database.

Article Influence . This measure is calculated by dividing the Eigenfactor Score by the number of a journal’s articles over the first 5 years after publication. It is calculated by multiplying the Eigenfactor Score by 0.01 and dividing by the number of articles in the journal, then normalized as a fraction of all articles in all publications, such that the mean is 1.0. JGIM’s most recent influence score is 2.579. This indicates that JGIM is more than twice as influential as the average journal.

CiteScore is calculated by dividing the number of citations from documents (articles, reviews, conference papers, book chapters, and data papers) over the previous 4 years by the number of articles indexed in Scopus published by the journal during those years. JGIM’s CiteScore is 4.6. Cite scores are calculated on a monthly basis. Among 122 internal medicine journals, JGIM is ranked 40 th by the CiteScore.

SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) also uses Scopus data and weights citations according to the prestige of the citing journal, taking into account the thematic closeness of the citing and cited journals. 9 It is calculated based on citations in 1 year to articles published in the previous 3 years. JGIM’s SJR is 1.746, which puts us 13 th on the list of “internal medicine” journals.

SCImago H-Index calculates the number of journal articles ( h ) that have been cited at least h times. It is the same calculation used to evaluate authors; SCImago calculates the journal h -index using Scopus citation data. JGIM has an h -index of 180, meaning that 180 of our articles have been cited more than 180 times. The h -index measures the productivity and impact of journal publications.

Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) compares each journal’s citations per article with the citations expected in its field. It allows a comparison of the journal’s impact across fields, because it adjusts for the likelihood of journal articles in that field being cited. JGIM’s SNIP is 1.471 which ranks us as 23 rd among 112 internal medicine journals.

Google Scholar

H5-index. Google Scholar calculates an H5-index for journals, which is the number of articles in the last 5 years with at least h citations. Google Scholar classifies JGIM as a primary care health journal. JGIM has an H5-index of 65, making it the top-ranked journal in this category. Google Scholar does not make available the citation sources; consequently, it is difficult to tell how complete the data is.

Journal Altmetrics

Like individual articles, altmetrics can be generated for journals. They have the same advantages and disadvantages as individual article altmetrics. In 2020, JGIM had 2.5 million downloads, 61 k linkouts, and 33 k social media mentions. Journal editors may have a poor understanding of altmetrics and struggle to know what to do with the data. Altimetrics reflect popular interest. For example, in 2020, the COVID pandemic captured public interest; articles focused on aspects of the pandemic received considerable public attention. For JGIM, the top altimetric article examined the impact of masking on preventing the spread of COVID and had an altmetric score of 4829.

JGIM is interested in these measures to ensure that we (like our authors) are having an impact. However, we are not obsessed on these measures and will continue to put forward what feels most important and relevant for academic general internists.

Declarations

The authors had no conflicts of interest with this article.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

• All subject areas
• Agricultural and Biological Sciences
• Arts and Humanities
• Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
• Business, Management and Accounting
• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Decision Sciences
• Earth and Planetary Sciences
• Economics, Econometrics and Finance
• Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Health Professions
• Immunology and Microbiology
• Materials Science
• Mathematics
• Multidisciplinary
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
• Physics and Astronomy
• Social Sciences
• All subject categories
• Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
• Biochemistry (medical)
• Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
• Dermatology
• Drug Guides
• Emergency Medicine
• Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
• Epidemiology
• Family Practice
• Gastroenterology
• Genetics (clinical)
• Geriatrics and Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Health Policy
• Immunology and Allergy
• Infectious Diseases
• Internal Medicine
• Medicine (miscellaneous)
• Microbiology (medical)
• Neurology (clinical)
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
• Otorhinolaryngology
• Pathology and Forensic Medicine
• Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
• Pharmacology (medical)
• Physiology (medical)
• Psychiatry and Mental Health
• Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
• Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
• Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
• Rehabilitation
• Reproductive Medicine
• Reviews and References (medical)
• Rheumatology
• Transplantation
• All regions / countries
• Asiatic Region
• Eastern Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Northern America
• Pacific Region
• Western Europe
• ARAB COUNTRIES
• IBEROAMERICA
• NORDIC COUNTRIES
• Afghanistan
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Brunei Darussalam
• Czech Republic
• Dominican Republic
• Netherlands
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Puerto Rico
• Russian Federation
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Switzerland
• Syrian Arab Republic
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Vatican City State
• Book Series
• Conferences and Proceedings
• Trade Journals

• Citable Docs. (3years)
• Total Cites (3years)

-->

	Title	Type
1		journal	106.094 Q1	211	49	124	4844	35427	89	381.89	98.86	43.95
2		journal	26.837 Q1	505	105	304	10805	10951	163	31.23	102.90	44.33
3		journal	22.399 Q1	391	239	731	8584	13091	153	19.72	35.92	34.15
4		journal	21.048 Q1	217	127	400	9888	10807	183	28.36	77.86	38.85
5		journal	20.544 Q1	1184	1388	4522	14603	107246	1824	21.69	10.52	38.26
6		journal	19.045 Q1	630	595	1363	16478	36243	729	27.23	27.69	43.99
7		journal	18.663 Q1	71	0	19	0	963	19	0.00	0.00	0.00
8		journal	18.587 Q1	23	11	16	0	802	16	47.57	0.00	81.69
9		journal	17.507 Q1	398	178	590	11546	12604	360	19.83	64.87	41.91
10		journal	16.009 Q1	467	169	540	11148	13815	304	23.17	65.96	36.44
11		journal	15.827 Q1	140	106	297	4359	4041	62	12.99	41.12	41.35
12		journal	15.620 Q1	328	23	84	4178	2696	83	27.02	181.65	40.68
13		journal	14.618 Q1	160	70	247	587	5353	230	21.11	8.39	58.79
14		journal	14.293 Q1	421	123	346	10202	6211	207	17.40	82.94	32.86
15		journal	13.942 Q1	294	144	670	5180	12698	362	18.81	35.97	39.02
16		journal	13.578 Q1	455	233	688	15608	13409	550	16.89	66.99	40.35
17		journal	13.080 Q1	260	243	827	1865	14374	679	16.58	7.67	62.53
18		journal	12.294 Q1	46	62	154	8174	4174	86	27.10	131.84	31.14
19		journal	12.179 Q1	408	393	1455	5354	17873	634	11.39	13.62	42.77
20		journal	12.113 Q1	895	1398	4046	22192	65313	1370	14.35	15.87	51.49
21		journal	11.900 Q1	61	176	453	7513	5933	297	12.27	42.69	43.45
22		journal	11.748 Q1	147	22	63	3087	2361	63	28.74	140.32	33.33
23		journal	11.274 Q1	440	303	771	10345	10949	529	13.85	34.14	44.58
24		journal	10.821 Q1	388	51	129	21543	4032	119	31.12	422.41	37.79
25		journal	10.639 Q1	624	783	1664	20976	26011	1205	13.64	26.79	41.81
26		journal	10.275 Q1	121	9	113	401	2441	102	21.97	44.56	75.00
27		journal	10.247 Q1	173	194	575	4605	7030	222	12.48	23.74	41.98
28		journal	10.215 Q1	186	69	274	7205	7476	189	24.62	104.42	39.71
29		journal	9.857 Q1	301	426	1327	15192	18226	685	12.66	35.66	36.89
30		journal	9.741 Q1	193	155	459	9634	9010	283	17.88	62.15	33.84
31		journal	9.639 Q1	372	173	503	9764	12098	361	26.41	56.44	34.39
32		journal	9.434 Q1	90	165	504	4230	7588	218	12.32	25.64	42.59
33		journal	8.957 Q1	105	235	671	4964	7447	255	9.92	21.12	46.48
34		journal	8.762 Q1	493	631	2380	15404	21232	1052	8.22	24.41	31.41
35		journal	8.761 Q1	106	152	517	9106	7832	497	14.04	59.91	41.87
36		journal	8.589 Q1	355	276	802	5512	9503	330	10.24	19.97	42.69
37		journal	8.415 Q1	674	539	2028	16395	27681	1313	13.29	30.42	34.11
38		journal	8.408 Q1	183	153	497	10482	7493	251	14.28	68.51	26.47
39		journal	8.222 Q1	196	190	525	23895	14728	449	23.31	125.76	38.33
40		journal	8.052 Q1	348	434	1034	14742	15775	653	15.00	33.97	38.99
41		journal	7.982 Q1	138	257	627	13099	9427	468	12.68	50.97	39.74
42		journal	7.965 Q1	182	286	959	5528	11689	439	11.34	19.33	42.63
43		journal	7.951 Q1	116	201	441	11275	8533	347	20.56	56.09	31.96
44		journal	7.922 Q1	307	40	95	7025	2339	95	22.37	175.63	43.13
45		journal	7.879 Q1	178	266	803	6857	7329	395	9.53	25.78	39.88
46		journal	7.843 Q1	173	349	1225	6132	9916	523	7.62	17.57	39.66
47		journal	7.827 Q1	145	219	882	4322	9448	316	7.95	19.74	49.25
48		journal	7.533 Q1	229	341	1297	8166	13169	986	10.13	23.95	41.52
49		journal	7.522 Q1	144	115	531	11441	12065	413	20.83	99.49	40.48
50		journal	7.362 Q1	466	558	2271	11604	20955	1130	7.65	20.80	37.67

Follow us on @ScimagoJR Scimago Lab , Copyright 2007-2024. Data Source: Scopus®

Cookie settings

Cookie Policy

Legal Notice

Privacy Policy