The jump in journal impact factors during this pandemic

Abstract

Background: Due to the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a significant number of COVID-related papers have been published. The journal citation report (JCR) of Web of Science, released in June 2022 and 2023, demonstrated that the journal impact factors (JIFs) of biomedical journals have increased substantially. Methods: This study examined two traditional multidisciplinary journals (Science and Nature) and four medical journals (The Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA], The Lancet [LANCET], The New England Journal of Medicine [NEJM], and British Medical Journal [BMJ]). The influence of COVID-related papers on JIFs was analyzed using bibliometric methods. Results: The proportion of citations in 2021 to items published in 2020 was notably high, with five journals exceeding 50%. Similarly, the proportion of citations in 2022 to items published in 2020 and the proportion of citations in 2022 to items published in 2021 remained high, although exhibiting a gradual downward trend. Conclusion: The JIFs of the four medical journals were higher than those of the top traditional multidisciplinary journals Science and Nature by a wide margin. This discrepancy could be attributed to the larger denominators (citable items) in the JIF calculations for Science and Nature or other factors. However, in terms of average citations per paper, there was no evidence that Science and Nature performed worse than the medical journals. Emerging hot topics, such as COVID-19, tend to elevate JIFs considerably. However, it is important to adopt a rational perspective on these surges. The publication of scientific and technological papers should prioritize advancing human knowledge through academic exchange rather than focusing solely on JIFs values.