Methods of Determining Impact

Publication in Discipline Journals

The 10^th edition of Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities lists nearly 2,000 journals in the subject areas of accounting, economics and finance, management, and marketing.  This number excludes the vast majority of journals based outside the US, UK, and Canada, and those published in languages other than English.  Thus, when one takes into account the extensive array of discipline journals published around the world, one will find a wide spectrum of article quality, a myriad of processes and criteria used to select articles for publication, and a variety of intended audiences (though primarily academics).

Some business schools have developed rankings or classifications of journals in an attempt to provide faculty with a prioritized list of outlets for their research.  Often journal rankings are a function of their citation rates.

Article Citations

In part due to its quantifiable nature and to technological advances that permit better tracking of citations within books and journal articles, the number of times a particular article or publication is cited has become a common method of assessing the article’s impact on furthering knowledge in the field.  Additionally, researchers use citation rates as a means of identifying which among a long list of articles may be the most useful to their research, as well as to map the development of an idea over time.  In many cases, citation rates for faculty research play a role in university rankings.

Indices of Research Productivity

• Scopus provides abstracts and citations from research literature and quality web sources. Using this tool one can find how many citations an article or an author has received as well as who cited the article. One can also analyze citations for a particular journal issue, volume or year.
   

• The Social Sciences Research Network publishes a searchable database of abstracts and working papers in a variety of business disciplines, with the goal of encouraging the early distribution of research results as a means of facilitating communication and collaboration among researchers.  The network also publishes a ranking of the most downloaded articles and authors within each discipline.
   

• Academic Analytics the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index which measures the annual productivity of faculty on several factors including publications (books and journal articles), citations of journal publications, federal research funding, and awards and honors.
   

• The Social Science Citation Index, ABI/INFORM, and EBSCO are subscription-based services that permit publication searching as well as provide data regarding citation rates.
   

• The University of Texas at Dallas University Research Rankings are based upon publications in 24 top journals for a five-year time period (2000-2004).  Visitors to the website can also search a database of articles published in those same 24 journals since 1990.

Publishers of Journal Rankings

• Journal-Ranking.com. General and custom journal rankings based on citation scores
   
• Eigenfactor.org. Journal rankings based on citation networks
   
• Association of Business Schools (ABS) Journal Quality Guide. Journal rankings based on the tiered lists from several schools that are members of the Association of Business Schools in the U.K.
   
• Harzing.com. Journal rankings from various schools and organizations
   
• ISI Web of Knowledge. Journal citation reports and journal use reports

National Ratings of Research

Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia have adopted formal methods of measuring research quality that guide funding allocation decisions: 

• Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)
  The United Kingdom’s Research Assessment Exercise rates higher education institutions based on an assessment of the proportion of research activity (in specified subject areas) that attains national or international excellence. Rankings assist determinations of research funding allocations.
   

• Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF)
  New Zealand’s Performance Based Research Fund was developed to encourage and reward excellent research at institutions of higher education.  A majority (60%) of the research funding available through the PBRF is allocated according to a peer assessment of individual research performance, which rates individuals’ portfolios as having international, national, or local standing.
   

"What Causes a Management Article to be Cited – Article, Author, or Journal?" By: Judge, Timothy A.; Cable, Daniel M.; Colbert, Amy E.; Rynes, Sara L. Academy of Management Journal, June2007, Vol. 50 No 3, p491-506.

"The Number That’s Devouring Science." By: Monastersky, Richard. Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/14/2005, Vol. 52 Issue 8, pA12-A17.

"The Quest for Citations: Drivers of Article Impact." By: Stremersch, Stefan; Verniers, Isabel; Verhoef, Peter C. Journal of Marketing, July 2007, Vol. 71, p171-193.

"The Glory and Tyranny of Citation Impact: An East Asian Perspective." By: Leung, Kwok. Academy of Management Journal, June 2007, Vol. 50 No 3, p510-513.

"Citations to Management Articles: Cautions for the Science About Advice for the Scientist." By: Ilgen, Daniel R. Academy of Management Journal, June 2007, Vol. 50 No 3, p507-509.

The University of Western Ontario Business Library publishes a list of articles about the rating and ranking of journals in the various business disciplines.