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Category: Journals

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#PAsGoBeyond Celebrate #PAWeek October 6-12

October 6-12 is PA Week, a chance to celebrate the Physician Associates/Assistants (PAs) profession and the countless contributions that PAs make to healthcare! As licensed clinicians, PAs practice medicine in every specialty and setting. In the mid-1960s, a shortage of primary care physicians inspired the creation of the PA profession as a way to improve and expand access to healthcare. Eugene A. Stead Jr. MD, often recognized as the founder of the PA profession, created the first PA curriculum, at Duke University Medical Center in 1965 (AAPA History, 2022).  Dr. Stead based the curriculum on the fast-tracking of doctors during WWII.  The first students were Navy Hospital Corpsmen with considerable medical training and graduated from the program in 1967 (AAPA History, 2022). 

GW launched its PA program in 1972 and created a joint PA/Master of Public Health (PA/MPH) degree in 1986 - the first joint degree for PA students in the United States (GW SMHS PA Program, 2022). GW’s PA program has consistently ranked in the top five PA programs in US News and World Report.

Today, there are roughly 159,000 PAs in the United States, providing more than 500 million patient interactions per year (AAPA Infographic, 2022). PAs have a wide range of roles and responsibilities including performing patient exams, diagnosing illnesses, assisting in surgery, ordering and interpreting lab tests, prescribing medications, developing and managing treatment plans, and advising patients on preventative care practices. 

Himmelfarb Library is proud to support the SMHS PA program by providing important resources and services to help our PAs achieve their learning, teaching, clinical care, and research goals! Our Physician Assistants Guide is a great starting point as it provides a comprehensive collection of PA-related resources all from a single site. Resources for physical examination, and diagnosis, as well as links to research databases and textbooks, are all conveniently located in a single guide. Are you preparing for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE)? Check out our study and review the resources available on the PANCE tab of the guide. You can find links to professional organizations and find resources for writing and citation support.

Image of Ballweg's Physician Assistant book cover.

Looking for a great textbook? Check out Ballweg’s Physician Assistant: A Guide to Clinical Practice, which was co-authored by GW faculty member Tamara S. Ritsema, Director of PA Professional Practice and Associate Professor of PA Studies. If you’re looking for PA-focused journal articles, be sure to check out JAAPA (Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants). JAAPA is dedicated to supporting the ongoing education and advancement of PAs by publishing research on clinical, health policy, and professional issues. Another great journal available through Himmelfarb’s collection is the Journal of Physician Assistant Education (JPAE). This journal publishes articles applicable to PA educators and provides a forum for sharing ideas and innovations to enhance PA student education.

Himmelfarb Library celebrates PA Week and is honored to serve GW’s PA students, faculty and staff. Thank you for “going beyond” - Happy PA Week!

References: 

AAPA: American Academy of Physician Associates. (2022). History of AAPA & the PA Profession. AAPA History. https://www.aapa.org/about/history/

AAPA: American Academy of Physician Associations. (July 2022). What is a PA? https://www.aapa.org/download/80021/

GW SMHS PA Program. (2022). Physician Assistant Program: About Us. https://physicianassistant.smhs.gwu.edu/about-us

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Infographic listing the usage of Himmelfarb's top 10 nursing journal titles for 2021.

GW’s School of Nursing (SON) is one of the top-ranked nursing schools in the country. Himmelfarb Library is proud to support SON students, faculty, researchers, and staff by providing professional-level, scholarly full-text nursing resources. Our journal collection includes more than 200 nursing titles! Here are the top 10 most highly used nursing journals at  GW:

  1. International Journal of Nursing Studies (IJNS): With nearly 2,800 article views and downloads by GW users during 2021, this title is our most highly-used nursing journal! IJNS publishes original research related to a wide range of nursing topics including healthcare delivery, organization, management, policy, and research methods. 
  2. Journal of Professional Nursing: As the official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, this journal publishes articles that focus on nursing education, educational research, educational policy, and education and practice partnerships. 
  3. Nursing Outlook: This bimonthly journal publishes articles that examine current issues and trends in nursing practice, education, and research.
  4. AORN Journal: This journal is focused on perioperative nursing standards of practice and the nurse’s role in patient care before, during, and after operative and other invasive and interventional procedures in ambulatory and inpatient settings. 
  5. Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN): This journal publishes articles that further the advancement of evidence-based nursing, midwifery, and healthcare and covers a wide range of nursing-related topics including cancer nursing, community nursing, geriatric nursing, home care, mental health nursing, nursing research, and much more!
  6. Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA): Articles published in JONA are geared toward leaders in the nursing field (nurse executives, directors of nursing, and nurse managers). Articles offer practical, solution-oriented tools focused on leadership development, resource management (human, material, and financial), and staffing and scheduling systems. 
  7. American Journal of Nursing (AJN): As the oldest and largest circulating nursing journal in the world, AJN promotes excellence in professional nursing with articles focused on cutting-edge, evidence-based information while providing a holistic outlook on health and nursing.
  8. Journal of Clinical Nursing: This international journal is a forum for the exchange of high-quality information and the most updated nursing practice needs that promote understanding of sound research methods within all areas of nursing practice and research.
  9. Journal of Nursing Management: This fully open access journal explores and debates topics and current issues in nursing management and leadership, assesses the evidence behind current nursing practices, develops best practices in nursing management and leadership, and explores the impact of policy developments.
  10. Journal for Nurse Practitioners (JPN): As the official journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, JPN meets the practice needs of nurse practitioners with thought-provoking articles on controversial issues and topics, and publishes articles aimed at helping practitioners excel as primary and acute care providers.

For questions about any of these titles or other nursing journals, contact Ruth Bueter (rbueter@gwu.edu).

In addition to the great titles listed above, Himmelfarb also provides access to essential nursing databases including CINAHL Complete, ClinicalKey for Nursing, Geriatric Nursing Review Syllabus, and Telemedinsights. To learn more about our nursing resources, be sure to visit our Nursing Guide which provides information about our nursing textbooks,  NCLEX resources, searching the literature, and more. This in-depth guide has a wealth of information for BSN, MSN, Nurse Practitioners, DNP, and Ph.D. nursing students alike!

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Whether you’re a practicing neurosurgeon, a neurosurgery resident, or a medical student considering neurosurgery as a specialty, Himmelfarb Library has full-text access to a wide range of neurosurgery resources! 

MedOne Neurosurgery

MedOne Neurosurgery provides full-text access to more than 300 e-books, including the Greenberg Handbook of Neurosurgery, which is a go-to manual for neurosurgeons. This comprehensive book includes a wide range of clinical practice guidelines in a single, one-stop resource. Full-text access to eight neurosurgery journals, including Skull Base, and the Journal of Neurological Surgery Reports is also available via MedOne Neurosurgery. Access to study tools including a review questions database, case presentations with questions and answers, detailed information on procedures, images, and over two thousand procedural videos are also available. MedOne Neurosurgery users can create a “playlist” of their favorite content for easy retrieval and can share these playlists with others. For questions about MedOne Neurosurgery, contact Ian Roberts at imroberts@gwu.edu.

Neurosurgery Journals

Himmelfarb has subscriptions to key neurosurgery journals including: 

  • World Neurosurgery (formally Surgical Neurology): This title is Himmelfarb’s most popular neurosurgery journal, seeing more than 2,700 uses in 2021. World Neurosurgery provides timely and comprehensive coverage of important clinical and research advances in neurosurgery. 
  • Journal of Neurosurgery: Published by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), the Journal of Neurosurgery is an authoritative source for scholarly articles featuring clinical and laboratory research, case reports, technical notes, reviews, and innovative surgical techniques and instruments.
  • Neurosurgical Review: This title saw the highest increase in usage by Himmelfarb users with a 130% increase in article views and downloads during 2021. This journal publishes comprehensive reviews on current issues in neurosurgery. Each issue focuses on a single topic (a disease or surgical approach) and contains up to five review articles per issue. 
  • Neurosurgery: As the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Neurosurgery publishes the latest information on innovative surgical techniques and advances in instrumentation. 

For questions about Himmelfarb’s neurosurgery journals, contact Ruth Bueter at rbueter@gwu.edu. 

Neurosurgery Textbooks

Himmelfarb’s Neurological Surgery Guide provides links to our best neurosurgery textbooks and board review ebooks including: 

These are just some brief highlights of some of the neurosurgery resources available through Himmelfarb Library. Use our library search service, Health Information @ Himmelfarb, to find more resources, or contact our reference department (email them at himmelfarb@gwu.edu) for help locating neurosurgery articles or additional resources.

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Promotional image of The Medical Letter and Drugs of Choice 2022.

When you need to make the best treatment decisions for your patients, where do you turn to find information on drugs when you want to be sure the information hasn’t been influenced by the pharmaceutical industry? Himmelfarb Library provides access to two great options: The Medical Letter and Drugs of Choice!

The Medical Letter

The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics has a long history of being among the most used journal titles in Himmelfarb’s journal collection and is a trusted source for critical appraisals of new drugs and comparative reviews of drugs used to treat common diseases. Busy healthcare professionals don’t always have the time or resources to research manufacturers’ or pharmaceutical companies’ claims about a drug. The Medical Letter, a non-profit organization that is subscription funded, provides unbiased, reliable, and timely drug information that has been reviewed by medical experts who have come to an unbiased consensus. 

Whether you want to find out if a new prescription drug has advantages over older drugs, learn about the drug's effectiveness, and toxicity issues, or learn if the drug price is reasonable enough to justify prescribing it to patients, The Medial Letter has the information you need! Follow-up reports highlight any new information that may have changed the status of previously reviewed drugs, so you can be sure you are getting the most updated information. Himmelfarb’s subscription to The Medial Letter provides access to continuing education credits. You can also download the mobile app to access The Medical Letter from your mobile device.

https://youtu.be/v-IAZQNsqT4

Drugs of Choice

The Drugs of Choice 2022 Handbook provides updated information on preferred and alternative treatments for conditions such as alcohol use disorder, multiple sclerosis, onychomycosis, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, heart failure, and more. There is even information on topics such as insect repellents and sunscreens. Drugs of Choice is a definitive guide for finding:

  • Recommendations for first-line and alternative drugs
  • Potential Adverse Effects
  • Dosing Recommendations
  • Risk of Drug Interactions
  • Use in Pregnancy

Information is presented in easy-to-read tables, making this resource handy for quick reference.

The Medical Letter and Drug of Choice are both key resources that provide quick, easy-to-use tools to get the information you need to stay updated with the latest drug information! For more information or if you have questions about Himmelfarb’s access to these resources, contact Ruth Bueter (rbueter@gwu.edu).

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Image of a woman using a laptop from Women of Color in Tech stock images
Image from Women of Color in Tech stock images on Flickr (CC by 2.0)

The volume of new research being released can be overwhelming. You may need to keep up with new findings, developments, or guidelines to deliver quality patient care, pursue research, or teach and you may have multiple, disparate topics to follow. Scanning table of contents from your favorite journals won’t do the job. Twitter, ResearchGate and LinkedIn can help if you’re plugged into the right networks. We have some other tools to recommend to bring the latest relevant research to your attention.

Last spring Himmelfarb became an institutional member of Read by QxMD. Read is a personal awareness service for health sciences professionals. You can choose to follow curated collections or put in keywords to deliver relevant articles to your feed. The more you read, like, and save on Read, the more tailored your feed becomes. Check our article on Read to learn how to set up your free account and link directly to full-text articles. The Read app is available for Apple and Android devices and can be accessed via a web browser.

Browzine is a journal browsing and reading app that allows you to follow publications and receive alerts when new articles are published. You can set up a personal library of titles or search by subject. The Browzine mobile app allows you to download articles and read them offline. Set up a free account by accessing Browzine and selecting My Bookshelf. 

Several of Himmelfarb’s database services allow you to set up automated searches and search alerts. These include PubMed, Scopus and EBSCOhost databases like CINAHL. You can access any of these databases on Himmelfarb’s web page under Popular Resources. 

Additionally, Health Information @ Himmelfarb, the library’s search box, allows users to save searches that can be re-run later. After you’ve run your search, Sign In with your University UserID and password:

Screen shot of the Sign in option in Health Information @ Himmelfarb

Then use the Save Query button to save your search.

Screen shot of the Save Query option in Health Information @ Himmelfarb

You can access the saved search later under My Favorites while signed in by clicking your name at upper right.

Screen shot of the menu selection for My Favorites in Health Information @ Himmelfarb

Want to know what research has been retracted in your topics of interest? Retraction Watch is now integrated into Health Information @ Himmelfarb and Browzine via LibKey to alert you to retracted content.

For other tips on keeping up with the literature, check our Research Guide on How to Keep Up with Health Sciences Information.

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Cabells Logo.

Selecting a journal in which to publish your research is an important decision. With so many journals from which to choose, it can be daunting to compare journals and avoid publishing in a predatory or questionable journal, all while trying to find submission requirements, peer review information, and author guidelines to inform your decision making process. GW users now have access to Cabells Directory of Publishing Opportunities which can help you compare journals and identify predatory journals to avoid!

GW’s access to Cabells includes access to Journalytics and Predatory Reports. The Journalytics portion provides information on reputable journal titles including manuscript and submission guidelines, discipline, intended audience, peer review information, and acceptance rates. This information can help authors compare journals and make an informed decision regarding where to submit a manuscript for publication. Inclusion in Cabells Journalytics is by invitation only and criteria for inclusion can be found in the Journalytics Selection Policy.

The screenshot below is an example of the submission and review information listed for the Journal of Advanced Nursing found in Cabells Journalytics:

Screenshot of submission and review information.

Journalytics also allows you to compare up to 5 journals by selecting the titles you wish to compare, and clicking on the “Compare 5” button at the top of the search results. The screenshot below shows a side-by-side comparison of 5 emergency medicine journals:

Screenshot of journal comparisons.

The Predatory Reports portion of Cabells tracks journal titles that have been associated with predatory journal publishers based on violations of scholarly publishing standards and best practices. Cabells has established criteria for identifying deceptive, fraudulent, and/or predatory journals and provides a list of violations for each title listed in Predatory Reports. Examples of severe violations include: false qualifications or credential claims; fake ISSNs; fake, non-existent, or deceased editors; false peer review claims; publication of non-academic or pseudo-science papers; false indexing claims; lack of published articles or archives; misleading metrics; and misleading or false fee information. Cabells provides access to the complete list of Predatory Reports Criteria on their website.

The screenshot below shows an example of a list of violations from a title listed on Cabells Predatory Reports:

Screenshot of predatory violoations.

If you’d like a second opinion, or are unable to find a title you are suspicious of listed on Cabells Predatory Reports, don’t hesitate to use Himmelfarb’s Predatory Journal Check-Up Service by contacting Ruth Bueter (rbueter@gwu.edu). 

Whether you want to check to see if a journal in which you are interested in publishing could be a predatory journal, or you want more information about potential journals to which you might want to consider submitting your manuscript, Cabells Directory of Publishing Opportunities can provide you with the concise information you need all from a single, easy-to-use interface! To learn more, or if you have questions about this resource, contact Ruth Bueter (rbueter@gwu.edu). 

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Whether you’re a new Himmelfarb Library user, or have been using the library for years, chances are there are things you don’t know about us. We’d like to take this opportunity to help you get to know us, or get reacquainted with us and all that we have to offer!

Getting Help is Easy! Just Ask Us!

Whether you need help finding a specific full-text article, identifying a resource for your research, formatting a citation, or have a more in-depth question about conducting a literature review, a systematic review or managing your data, our reference librarians have the knowledge and know-how to help! Stop by our reference desk, chat with us using the “Ask Us” button on our website, call us (202-994-2850), email us (himmelfarb@gwu.edu), or text us (202-601-3525) for help. We look forward to answering your questions, large or small!

Our Collections

Himmelfarb has extensive collections that include 125+ databases, 6,700+ ebooks, and 6,500+ electronic journals that are available 24/7 from on and off-campus! We also have thousands of print books in our basement level stacks that are available for check out. Most books can be borrowed for three weeks. But don’t worry - if you need more time, you can renew most items twice by stopping by or calling our Circulation Desk (202-994-2962), or logging into your library account. 

In the event that we don’t have an article or book that you need, we can get it for you through our Docs2Go (ILL) or Consortium Loan Service (CLS) programs. Check out our Borrowing From Other Libraries page to learn which option is best for you!

On-Site Access & Use

Masking is a Must!

Remember that masking is still required in the library in accordance with GW’s current mask protocols. Please wear a mask while spending time in Himmelfarb for your own safety, and for the safety of those around you. Hand sanitizer is also available throughout Himmelfarb.

Himmelfarb Tour

Take a quick virtual tour of Himmelfarb to help you get acquainted with our space! 

Study Rooms & IT Support

We have plenty of study rooms available on our second and third floors. Study rooms must be reserved and can be booked up to seven days in advance. The SMHS Technology Support Center is located on the third floor in the Bloedorn AV Study Center for all of your IT support needs.

Technology Resources

Himmelfarb’s Bloedorn Technology Center, located on our third floor, offers statistical software, including SPSS, Stata, SAS, NVivo, MATLAB, and Atlas.ti on select computers. We also have equipment such as digital camcorders and digital voice recorders for loan to support curricular development and activities, but these items must be reserved in advance.

3D Printing

Thanks to a generous grant from the GW Hospital Women’s Board, we are proud to offer free 3D printing! To learn more, check out our 3D Printing at Himmelfarb Guide.

Picture of a gray 3D printed heart.

Off-Campus Access

All of Himmelfarb’s electronic resources are available 24/7 from anywhere! Just login with your GW UserID and password, or via the GW VPN. If you have trouble accessing any of our resources, reach out to us (himmelfarb@gwu.edu) so we can help troubleshoot, resolve issues and restore access as soon as possible.

Services and Support

Instruction:

We have services to help faculty and instructors use and connect Himmelfarb’s resources in the classroom. Our Durable Links Service will check, fix, or create new links to our resources that work from both on and off campus so your students will be able to access materials from anywhere. Our Course Reserves service provides access to electronic, print, and streaming course materials. Do you use a book in a course that Himmelfarb doesn’t currently own? Contact Acquisitions Librarian, Ian Roberts, and we will consider purchasing items for use in your courses.

Research Support:

Whether you are a faculty member, researcher, or student, Himmelfarb can help you be successful in your research! Are you working on your Culminating Experience project? Himmelfarb librarians provide individual consultations to help get your project started - and keep it going. 

Are you working on a systematic review and could use some support? Check out our Systematic Reviews Guide for in-depth information on the process. Himmelfarb also provides access to Covidence, an online tool that streamlines parts of the systematic review process such as screening references, and creating and populating data extraction forms. You can also use our Systematic Review Service for additional librarian support!

Check out our tutorials for help with navigating databases, using specific software such as ArcGix, MATLAB, RefWorks, SPSS, or Camtasia, and for help with a wide array of research topics. Our Resources for Early Career Researchers Guide can help new researchers understand and navigate the research and publishing landscape. Check out our Scholarly Publishing Guide for information and resources related to publishing, researcher profiles, author rights, and measuring the impact of your research. Scholarly communications webinars and short tutorials are also available on this guide!

Himmelfarb Library Can Help!

Whether you are a student, faculty, or staff member, Himmelfarb Library has the resources and knowledge to help make your studies and research successful. From study space, extensive collections of resources, to expertise in systematic reviews and publishing, we have something for everyone! 

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Welcome!
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

From all of us here at Himmelfarb Library, we’d like to welcome all new residents, fellows, physician assistants, and students! We are excited that you’re here and we look forward to serving you during this phase of your medical or health sciences training. We know the beginning of any journey can be daunting, so we’d like to make it easier for you to familiarize yourself with Himmelfarb Library and help you get to know us a bit.

To help you get your bearings, here’s a short, video tour of the library.

Resources for Residents & Fellows:

Himmelfarb has numerous resources to help new residents and fellows navigate this new stage of your training. Our Residents and Fellows Guide is filled with helpful information about how to access Himmelfarb’s resources from the GW Hospital and other off-campus locations. Links to our most popular clinical resources including DynaMed, ClinicalKey, Lexicomp, and PubMed are also available in this guide. The guide also provides links to specific program resources, so you can easily find resources geared towards your specialization.

NEJM Resident 360 is available! Start by creating your free personal account using your GW email address (GWemail@gwu.edu). After creating your account, access the resource through the library or directly through NEJM Resident 360. This resource contains interactive cases, videos, rotation prep materials, clinical pearls, morning reports, and more!

Do you want to use our resources from your mobile device? Check out our App Shelf to download apps to selected resources and make Himmelfarb’s resources even more easily accessible. To learn more about GW University and GW Hospital wireless access, accessing your GW email, and GW Hospital clinical systems, visit the Wireless and Clinical Systems Guide.

Himmelfarb Resources Available 24/7 from Anywhere!

Himmelfarb’s 125+ databases, 6,500+ journals, and 6,700+ ebooks are available 24/7 from anywhere! For seamless access to full-text articles available from our collection, install the LibKey Nomad browser extension. Use the Read by QxMD app and website to keep up with published research in your specialty. When accessing our resources remotely, we encourage you to use the GW VPN. You can find directions on how to install the VPN on our off-campus access page. If you need help troubleshooting an access issue, don’t hesitate to reach out to us (himmsubs@gwu.edu).

Need Research Help? 

Getting help with your research is a breeze at Himmelfarb! Our knowledgeable reference librarians are available to help answer your questions both in person at our reference desk or remotely. Our Ask a Librarian service connects you directly with our reference and research staff! Need help with a systematic review? Consider using our Systematic Review Service for help developing a search strategy, finding relevant articles, and organizing your search results. 

Tutorials, Guides, and More!

As you get settled into this new chapter of your medicine and health sciences journey, don’t forget that Himmelfarb has more to offer than just databases, journals, and books. We have a wealth of research guides that can connect you with resources on a variety of topics. Do you need help navigating the publishing landscape? Check out our Early Career Researchers, Scholarly Publishing, Predatory Publishing, and Measuring Scholarly Impact guides and our Scholarly Communications webinars and short tutorials. We also have a large selection of tutorials on a wide range of topics. 

Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for the latest Himmelfarb news and updates. 

We look forward to serving you! Welcome to the GW community!

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Loaded dice image by Candace McDaniel on Negative Space
Image by Candace McDaniel on Negative Space

In a 1955 Science article, Eugene Garfield proposed a citation index for the sciences (Garfield, 1955). The purpose was to make it easier to see which works cited or criticized a research paper, enabling researchers to find both frequently cited works and those that had flaws. The idea was that this would root out bad research and elevate that which had merit.

The first Science Citation Index was published in 1964. The indexes quickly became a staple tool for science and social science researchers, existing in print for decades and then going online and evolving into the present day Web of Science database. Researchers and faculty members in the sciences are now very cognizant of their h-index factor, a measure of the relevancy of their published works based on citation counts (this site explains how to calculate your h-index and the difference between Google Scholar’s and WOS indexes). Similarly the Journal Impact Factor emerged as a way to calculate the relevance of a scientific journal. Publishing in a high impact factor journal means more prestige for the author and the journal impact factor is a measure that librarians frequently use to make subscription decisions.

Some publishers and researchers have figured out ways to game the system over the years. Puffing up your h-index factor can win you grants and tenure. Similarly, inflating a journal’s impact factor means it will attract top researchers who want to publish their findings in it, as well as more subscriptions and revenue.

In 2013, Nature revealed a group of Brazilian journals had arranged to cite works from each other’s publications in a citation stacking scheme (Van Noorden, 2013). Journals have also found ways to manipulate impact factors by exploiting the types of content published. A recent analysis of the British Journal of Sports Medicine which had a sudden rise in impact factor found that there was a corresponding “exponential rise” in editorials published (Heathers, 2022). Publishing a large number of small citable items, like editorials, can boost impact factors due to the way they are calculated and this worked for BJSM, making it the top ranked sports medicine journal. Publishers also game the calendar by publishing items digitally and allowing them to accumulate citations before giving them an official publication date or “front loading” by publishing more research early in the year to accumulate additional citations when the impact factor calculation is run at the end of the year.

Richard Phelps at Retraction Watch recently wrote a brief article on citation cartels. Established scholars in a field cite each other’s works in an ‘I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine’ type arrangement that is mutually beneficial. His analysis revealed how a group of ‘strategic scholars’ could boost their impact factors by three times over ‘sincere scholars’ over the course of a few years. This increases their influence and mutes the voices of others. It reinforces the old boys’ club aspect of scientific and medical research and is particularly problematic in light of diversity and equity concerns. 

The fairness and effectiveness of impact factors has been addressed by the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The declaration came out of the 2012 meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco. It is now an international initiative covering all scholarly disciplines. DORA confronts issues of consistency, transparency and equity in research assessment and calls for:

  • the need to eliminate the use of journal-based metrics, such as Journal Impact Factors, in funding, appointment, and promotion considerations;
  • the need to assess research on its own merits rather than on the basis of the journal in which the research is published; and
  • the need to capitalize on the opportunities provided by online publication (such as relaxing unnecessary limits on the number of words, figures, and references in articles, and exploring new indicators of significance and impact).

You can read the entire declaration here. 

Garfield. (1955). Citation indexes for science; a new dimension in documentation through association of ideas. Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 122(3159), 108–111 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.122.3159.108

Heathers and Grimes. (2022). The Mechanics Behind A Precipitous Rise In Impact Factor: A Case Study From the British Journal of Sports Medicine. OSFPREPRINTS  https://osf.io/pt7cv/

Phelps. (2022). How Citation Cartels Give “Strategic Scholars” an Advantage.  Retraction Watch https://retractionwatch.com/2022/05/17/how-citation-cartels-give-strategic-scholars-an-advantage-a-simple-model/

Van Noorden. (2013). Brazilian Citation Scheme Outed. Nature (London), 500(7464), 510–511. https://doi.org/10.1038/500510a

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Photograph of a typewriter with a piece of paper with the word "Update" typed on it in large font.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash 

Himmelfarb Library has good news to share! We are thrilled to announce that we were able to resubscribe to a portion of the journal titles that were canceled as a result of pandemic related library collections budget cuts during 2021. 

While most of these titles were previously part of our collection, Translational Behavioral Medicine is a new title for Himmelfarb and we are excited to finally be able to offer this faculty recommended title as part of our journal collection. Decisions on which titles to add back to our collection were largely based on prior usage of these titles, subscription cost, number of faculty publications within each title, and faculty feedback from the 2021 Faculty Journal Survey.

Below is a list of the 29 titles that were added back to our journal collection, effective immediately. 

For questions or additional information about these titles, please contact Ruth Bueter (rbueter@gwu.edu). 

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