Impact factor Vs, article level metrids for measuring the impact of scholarly communication ; A comparative review

Abstract

The presence of web-based communities is a unique mark of web 2.0. The web based feature means that information propagation within each community is highly facilitated, promoting dynamics in view of information exchange. As scholarly communications and publishing models continue to evolve, it is crucial that those involved in the publication and dissemination of research to develop a good understanding of the changing environment in order to identify opportunities to improve how we understand the reach and influence of research. This paper discusses about the journal level and article level research impact indicators, such as Impact Factor (IF) and Altmetric. Also critically discusses the challenges of using IF to measure the real impact of research outcome at article level, advantages and disadvantages of Altmetric as an indicator to measure the impact of research at article level, also the importance of measuring the article level research outcome other than journal level. This comparative review revealed that, article level indicators have a number of advantages over journal level indicator such as broadness, diversity, sped and openness to measure the impact of scholarly communication. It also pointed out that, Impact factor fails to measure the real impact of the individual article because it is based on citation only.