Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
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Perspect Psychol Sci · Nov 2016
Taking Advantage of Citation Measures of Scholarly Impact: Hip Hip h Index!
Professional decisions about hiring, tenure, promotion, funding, and honors are informed by assessments of scholarly impact. As a measure of influence, citations are produced by experts but accessible to nonexperts. The h index is the largest number h such that an individual has published at least h works cited at least h times apiece. ⋯ Striving for a large h index requires both productivity and influence, which provides healthy incentives for researchers striving for eminence through scientific impact. A number of factors that can influence h are discussed to promote the mindful use of what might otherwise be an ambiguous or misleading measure. The h index adds a transparent, objective component to assessments of scholarly impact, and even academic eminence, that merits at least two cheers.