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Abstract An overview and analysis of the Journal Citation Reports'impact factor is provided here. The historical development, calculation of, and alternatives to impact factor are briefly described. Nine general uses of impact factor, including library collection management decisions, journal rankings, journal decision models, and full-text database evaluation, are discussed. Ten benefits, such as its well-established authority, are listed. Finally, more than a dozen criticisms of citation data in general (e.g., self-citations are counted) and impact factor specifically (e.g., problems with the formula for its calculation) are analyzed. The author concludes that impact factor, if used appropriately and in combination with other criteria, is a valid tool that can assist journal collection management decisions in research libraries.
Thomas E. Nisonger (Thu,) studied this question.