Helena Donato

Traditional and alternative metrics: The full story of impact

For many years, the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) was the best tool available to determine the prestige of a journal. JIF is a metric tool that was originally developed in the 1960s by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) as a valid metric for journal quality.1 A group of editors from a number of scholarly journals met in December 2012 to discuss the Impact Factor, and a declaration was born ‘‘the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment’’ (DORA). DORA is a worldwide initiative to improve the way in which the output of scientific research is evaluated by funding agencies, academic institutions and other parties.2 The declaration includes the following recommendations3:

Welcome Aboard the Acta Medica Portuguesa, Welcome to the First International Division!

1. Editor-Chefe. Acta Médica Portuguesa. Lisboa. Portugal. 2. Serviço de Gastrenterologia e Hepatologia. Hospital de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Portugal. 3. Editora Associada. Acta Médica Portuguesa. Lisboa. Portugal. 4. Serviço de Documentação. Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra. Coimbra. Portugal. Recebido: 23 de Outubro de 2014 Aceite: 23 de Outubro de 2014 | Copyright