B – Systematic Differences in Impact across Publication Tracks at PNAS

Rand DG, Pfeiffer T, Systematic Differences in Impact across Publication Tracks at PNAS. PLoS ONE 2009; 4(12): e8092.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008092


http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0008092

Citation data can be used to evaluate the editorial policies and procedures of scientific journals. This analysis in PNAS explores the consequences of differences in editor and referee selection, and demonstrates that different editorial procedures are associated with different levels of impact, even within the same prominent journal. It raises interesting questions about the most appropriate metrics for judging an editorial policy’s success.