Impact Factor Analysis and Improvement Strategy

A KGL Editorial client requested assistance with initiatives to raise the journal’s profile and to elevate its Impact Factor.

The experienced KGL managing editor assigned to the journal took a multipronged approach to the work, knowing that a variety of factors can influence can influence the quality and quantity of manuscripts submitted.

First, journal publication and citation data from several prior years was reviewed, and it was discovered that while the number of submissions was increasing, the editors were not being more selective in accepting manuscripts for publication. The number of published articles was increasing disproportionately to the number of citations that would be needed to maintain or improve the Impact Factor. To encourage the editors to be more selective, a communication was sent in coordination with the editor-in-chief, advising the editors of the increase in  submissions and providing guidelines for acceptance. In order to track progress and encourage the editors to stay the course, the KGL managing editor set up a report to advise the editors of the journal’s acceptance rate throughout the year. Additionally, she worked with the publisher to obtain quarterly citation reports, to track citations, and to review the citations of published articles throughout the year.

The KGL managing editor also sought to increase citations and raise the journal’s profile in the field by actively promoting journal content through various initiatives including:

• Launch of a social media program

• Publishing collections of highly cited articles from prior years

• Use of transition slides at scientific meetings to highlight high-impact articles and authors

• Providing editors with promotional materials to distribute at international meetings

High quality new manuscript submissions increased significantly following the implementation of these initiatives, as did the journal’s Impact Factor. The journal benefited from having an experienced KGL Editorial managing editor to recommend and implement these initiatives.