The 2014 Impact Factors have been released, and once more Computers in Human Behavior is growing up ! Impact Factor 2013: 2.273 (5 years Impact Factor: 3.047), and now Impact Factor 2014: 2.694 (5 years Impact Factor: 3.624). Not only the Impact Factor is getting closer to the symbolic line of 3, but the 5 years Impact Factor is almost reaching 4 !
But Impact Factors are not what matter the most in terms of metric. Indeed, Impact Factors are just numbers, and they heavily depends on the size of the field. An Impact Factor of 2 does not mean the same if the journal it belongs to is a journal of molecular biology or a journal of computer-mediated communication.
So, while the growth in Impact Factor is great, what matter even more is the relative position of a journal among the other journals in the same field. And here come the real good news: Computers in Human Behavior entered this year the Top 20 of the journals in the "Psychology (Multidisciplinary)" category ! The ranking of Computers in Human Behavior in this category in 2013 was 24 out of 127, and it is 20 out of 129 in 2014.
The cherry on the top of the cake ? Well, Computers in Human Behavior also increased its ranking in the (arguably more competitive) category of "Experimental Psychology", reaching the rank 24 out of 85 (instead of 30 out of 83 in 2013), thus getting closer to enter the Top 20 there too.
Why is that so ? What can explain this success of the journal ? As a scientist, I have the flaw of looking for rational explanations for various phenomenons ... So, one reason is probably that the journal is pretty awesome: the Editors, Publisher, and all the people involved in it are doing an amazing job, and we can only be grateful to our authors and reviewers, who all contribute to the success of Computers in Human Behavior.
But there is probably more than that. First, the journal indeed is of great quality. Although the review process is never instantaneous, and although it can take several months in some case, we managed to keep the average time between submission and first decision relatively reasonable (for a journal receiving circa 2,000 submission a year, still). Second, the field has considerably evolved in the last few years. The methodologies have strengthened, the theories and the knowledge underlying cyberpsychology have expended, and as a result, the overall quality of the papers submitted (and thus, published), has greatly increased too. Better papers, more citations. Third, with the exponential advances in information technologies, virtual spaces are becoming prominent in our everyday life. What was once perceived by some at beast as an ectopic research subject is now becoming a topic of central interest. And Computers in Human Behavior being positioned as a leader in this field, the ranking in more general psychology-related fields is likely to get better. So, in conclusion, while those were good news, I hope to receive even better ones next year !
Good post.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is very cool and interested. Great information is here. I want to see another valuable post. Thanks for sharing.
human behavior expert