Time to discard the metric that decides how science is rated

" ... This metric, called the journal impact factor or just impact factor, and released annually, counts the average number of times a particular journal’s articles are cited by other scientists in subsequent publications over a certain period of time. The upshot is that it creates a hierarchy among journals, and scientists vie to get their research published in a journal with a higher impact factor, in the hope of advancing their careers. The trouble is that impact factor of journals where researchers publish their work is a poor surrogate to measure an individual researcher’s accomplishments. Because the range of citations to articles in a journal is so large, the impact factor of a journal is not really a good predictor of the number of citations to any individual article. The flaws in this metric have been acknowledged widely – it lacks transparency and, most of all, it has unintended effects on how science gets done. A recent study that attempted to quantify the extent to which publication in high-impact-factor journals correlates with academic career progression highlights just how embedded the impact factor is. While other variables also correlate with the likelihood of getting to the top of the academic ladder, the study shows that impact factors and academic pedigree are rewarded over and above the quality of publications. The study also finds evidence of gender bias against women in career progression and emphasises the urgent need for reform in research assessment. Judging scientists by their ability to publish in the journals with the highest impact factors means that scientists waste valuable time and are encouraged to hype up their work, or worse, only in an effort to secure a space in these prized journals. They also get no credit for sharing data, software and resources, which are vital to progress in science. This is why, since its release a year ago, more than 10,000 individuals across the scholarly community have signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which aims to free science from the obsession with the impact factor. The hope is to promote the use of alternative and better methods of research assessment, which will benefit not just the scientific community but society as a whole ..."