The h-index is a simple way to measure the impact of your work and other people's research. It does this by looking at the number of highly impactful publications a researcher has published. The higher the number of cited publications, the higher the h-index, regardless of which journal the work was published in.
The h-index is a metric used to evaluate the productivity and impact of a researcher's publications. It was introduced by physicist Jorge Hirsch in 2005.
The h-index is calculated based on the number of papers (h) that have at least h citations each. For example:
- An h-index of 10 means that a researcher has published at least 10 papers, each with at least 10 citations.
- An h-index of 20 means that a researcher has published at least 20 papers, each with at least 20 citations.
The h-index takes into account both the quantity and quality of a researcher's publications. It aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of a researcher's impact than traditional metrics like the number of publications or citations alone.
Here's how to calculate the h-index:
1. List all publications in descending order of citations.
2. Identify the paper with the lowest citation count that still meets the h-index criteria (e.g., 10 papers with at least 10 citations).
3. The h-index is the number of papers that meet this criteria.
The h-index has its limitations, such as:
- It can be influenced by citation patterns in specific fields.
- It may not account for recent publications or early-career researchers.
- It can be affected by self-citation practices.
Despite these limitations, the h-index remains a widely used metric for evaluating research impact and productivity.
Your h-index can be found on the top, right-hand side of your ResearchGate profile, and on your Stats tab, under Citations. It's currently only visible when accessing ResearchGate from your browser, and is not displayed on the iOS app.
How is the h-index calculated on ResearchGate?
The h-index is calculated based on two bits of information: the total number of papers published (Np) and the number of citations (Nc) for each paper. It is defined by how many h of a researcher’s publications (Np) have at least h citations each. This means that if you have one publication with at least one citation, your h-index is 1, if you have two publications with at least two citations each, your h-index would be 2, and so on.
On ResearchGate, you'll see two separate h-indices displayed for each author. The first metric is an h-index that includes self-citations. The second h-index displayed excludes self-citations so that anyone looking at the numbers can compare them and quickly gauge whether other authors are paying attention to a researcher's work.
Please note: The h-index takes into account only citations of your work from scientific literature, reflecting impact in the scientific community. Furthermore, it is calculated based on the publications in your profile. You can help us make sure your h-index accurately represents your impact by adding all of your work to your profile.
