A Requiem for the H-index

Valenti Rull

doi:10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2

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preprints.org > biology and life sciences > other > doi: 10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2

Preprint Essay Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

A Requiem for the H-index

Valenti Rull

Version 1 : Received: 18 January 2024 / Approved: 19 January 2024 / Online: 19 January 2024 (06:10:08 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 19 January 2024 / Approved: 22 January 2024 / Online: 23 January 2024 (02:29:51 CET)
Version 3 : Received: 23 January 2024 / Approved: 24 January 2024 / Online: 24 January 2024 (07:32:45 CET)

How to cite: Rull, V. A Requiem for the H-index . Preprints 2024, 2024011453. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2 Rull, V. A Requiem for the H-index . Preprints 2024, 2024011453. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2

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MDPI and ACS Style

Rull, V. A Requiem for the H-index . Preprints 2024, 2024011453. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2

APA Style

Rull, V. (2024). A Requiem for the H-index<strong> </strong>. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rull, V. 2024 "A Requiem for the H-index<strong> </strong>" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1453.v2

Abstract

Using the h-index to assess individual researchers is not only unethical and unfair but also inaccurate and misleading. This index fails to offer a reliable measure of a researcher's impact based on their citation scores. Beyond statistical and conceptual considerations, authorship practices, especially in the case of multi-authored publications, give rise to significant problems that often go unnoticed. While some modifications of the h-index have been proposed to mitigate these weaknesses, the fundamental deficiencies persist. Most of these flaws have been effectively addressed by the c-score, a composite citation index. The c-score excludes self-citations, normalizes the number of citations by considering the number of authors in each paper, and takes into account first, single, and last authorship. This approach provides a more realistic measure of the impact of each individual researcher based on raw citations.

Keywords

h-index; c-score; individual evaluation; citation scores; first authorship; multiauthorship; scientific misconduct

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Other

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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