Two h-Index Benchmarks for Evaluating the Publication Performance of Medical Informatics Researchers

作者：El Emam Khaled^*; Arbuckle Luk; Jonker Elizabeth; Anderson Kevin

来源：Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2012, 14(5): e144.

DOI：10.2196/jmir.2177

• h-Index
• medical informatics
• bibliometrics
• evaluation
• research output

Background: The h-index is a commonly used metric for evaluating the publication performance of researchers. However, in a multidisciplinary field such as medical informatics, interpreting the h-index is a challenge because researchers tend to have diverse home disciplines, ranging from clinical areas to computer science, basic science, and the social sciences, each with different publication performance profiles. %26lt;br%26gt;Objective: To construct a reference standard for interpreting the h-index of medical informatics researchers based on the performance of their peers. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods: Using a sample of authors with articles published over the 5-year period 2006-2011 in the 2 top journals in medical informatics (as determined by impact factor), we computed their h-index using the Scopus database. Percentiles were computed to create a 6-level benchmark, similar in scheme to one used by the US National Science Foundation, and a 10-level benchmark. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: The 2 benchmarks can be used to place medical informatics researchers in an ordered category based on the performance of their peers. A validation exercise mapped the benchmark levels to the ranks of medical informatics academic faculty in the United States. The 10-level benchmark tracked academic rank better (with no ties) and is therefore more suitable for practical use. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusions: Our 10-level benchmark provides an objective basis to evaluate and compare the publication performance of medical informatics researchers with that of their peers using the h-index. (J Med Internet Res 2012;14(5):e144) doi: 10.2196/jmir.2177

• 出版日期2012-10