The Hirsch index is one of the most influential scientometric indicators in the scientific community. How is this indicator calculated? How does the Hirsch index affect a scientist's career? In today's article, we will provide answers to these questions.
What is the Hirsch index?
The Hirsch index (or h-index) is one of the key and most influential scientometric indicators. The index is used to evaluate individual researchers, organisations, and teams in terms of their scientific output. The H-index, based on the number of publications and their citations, was proposed by the Argentine-American physicist Jorge Hirsch in 2005.
The H-index is a quantitative characteristic of a scientist's productivity over the entire period of his or her scientific activity. In addition to the paid Scopus and Web of Science, it can also be calculated for free using an online resource such as Google Scholar.
The role of the Hirsch index in the work of a scientist
The H-index is an important indicator of a researcher's scientific impact. Its values are reflected by various scientometric databases, platforms, and libraries in the authors' profiles. Since the h-index depends on the number of scientific publications and their citations, it shows the popularity of the researcher's work among other scientists and researchers.
This index also indicates the relevance and significance of the author's research. A high h-index value means that the researcher's work is widely recognised in the scientific community, which contributes to the growth of his or her authority. In addition, a high Hirsch index opens up new opportunities for further research and career development.
The desire to increase one's h-index can encourage researchers to create high-quality publications and actively participate in scientific events, which generally contributes to the development of science.
National H-index Ranking
The Hirsch index is used to compile international rankings of both individual scientists and research institutions. One of these rankings is the National H-index Ranking.
The National H-index Ranking is an independent international ranking that evaluates the scientific activity of scientists, research groups and institutions of a particular country based on the Hirsch index as a generalised scientometric indicator.
The official website presents ratings of leading researchers and research institutions based on the general Hirsch index, which is calculated using data from various scientometric databases and platforms such as Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar.
A high Hirsch index score increases a researcher's position in the global academic arena, helps to attract funding, increases competitiveness, affects career and salary, etc.
How to determine the Hirsch index?
The H-index is based on the number of scientific papers an author has published and the number of citations of these papers. Thus, the more often publications are cited, the higher the researcher's h-index.
The formula for calculating the h-index:
.png)
if N articles are cited at least N times.
The h-index calculation demonstrates the correlation between the number of publications and the frequency of their citation. Let us consider how the Hirsch index is determined in practice.
For example, h-index 10 means that the author has at least 10 papers, each of which has been cited at least 10 times.
An example of how to calculate the h-index: if an author has six publications with different numbers of citations, a list is created showing the number of citations for each work:
1 article – 7 citations
2 article – 5 citations
3 article – 4 citations
4 article – 3 citations
5 article – 2 citations
6 article – 1 citation
The list starts with the publication with the highest number of citations, listed in descending order. The first, second, and third articles have more citations than their serial number. However, starting from the fourth article, the number of citations becomes less than its number (4 > 3). In this case, the h-index will be the sequence number of the last article for which the number of citations is equal to or greater than its number.
Thus, in the above example, the h-index is 3.
If the article number is the same as the number of citations, this number will be the value of the h-index. For example:
1 article – 7 citations
2nd article – 6 citations
3 article – 5 citations
4 article – 4 citations
5 article – 2 citations
6 article – 1 citation
In this case, the h-index is 4.
Advantages of the h-index:
- The H-index reflects not only the quantitative but also the qualitative aspects of publications, demonstrating the overall impact of a researcher's scientific achievements.
- This metric adjusts for the impact of both highly cited papers and those that have not yet been cited.
- Major scientometric databases, such as Scopus and Web of Science, automatically calculate the h-index in author profiles.
- H-index objectively characterises the research activity of a researcher.
- The metric is an international standard and a key factor when considering applications for funding and grants.
- The Hirsch index is the most effective indicator compared to other scientometric indicators (citation index, total number of publications, average citation of articles).
Disadvantages of the h-index:
- The H-index is a selective indicator and does not take into account little-cited but important publications, such as conference abstracts.
- The metric covers the entire career of a scientist, but does not highlight specific time periods.
- The H-index does not take into account the context of citations.
- The value of the indicator can be distorted due to self-citation or unreasonable citations by colleagues.
- The metric cannot completely replace other indicators for a comprehensive assessment of scientific activity.
- The H-index of authors in different disciplines may differ due to the difference in the demand for certain fields of science. Therefore, the indicator is not completely objective.
Reasons for the low h-index
It should be noted that a few citations (and therefore a low Hirsch index) of an author's work in Scopus, Web of Science, or Google Scholar does not necessarily indicate a low level of scientific articles. Often, the reason may be purely technical. For example, it can be errors in the author's profile, the presence of several pages for one author, incorrect transliteration and technical shortcomings of the platforms themselves, and other factors.
Benefits of a high h-index for researchers:
- One of the key criteria for receiving grants, scholarships, and research funding.
- Creates and enhances opportunities for international cooperation.
- In many scientific institutions, the h-index is a criterion for evaluating candidates for senior positions.
- It is an important factor for employers in making employment decisions.
- It helps to identify current scientific trends.
- It is used as a benchmark for selecting scientific journals for publishing research.
How to increase the Hirsch index?
- Write papers that are relevant to the scientific community. Keep in touch with colleagues who are engaged in research in your field, exchange data, relevant information and useful links.
- Publications in leading journals. For publications, choose reputable journals, such as those indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, giving preference to journals in the first and second quartiles.
- Works in co-authorship. Write papers in co-authorship, especially with scientists who have high scientific performance.
- Self-citation. Do not neglect self-citation, as it contributes to an increase in the Hirsch index. However, remember that it cannot be abused either. You can learn more about self-citation in our article.
- Advertising your research. Disseminate your research through social media as it reaches a large audience. LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook usually provide the best coverage, although some researchers also engage their audience through Instagram and TikTok.
- Promote your work. Use various platforms to disseminate your research findings, including ResearchGate, an international social network for scientists. On this platform, you can publish your work, get useful feedback, participate in discussions of other research, etc.
Do you need to increase your Hirsch index? Contact “Scientific Publications”! Our experts guarantee you an effective increase in your Hirsch index. Fill out the form below and we will contact you shortly. Together to new achievements!
