An analysis of the bibliometric indicators and academic influence of Journal of Clinical Hepatology in 2011-2018

Objective To evaluate the quality and academic influence of Journal of Clinical Hepatology through a statistical analysis of the bibliometric indicators and assessment indices of this journal in 2011-2018. Methods The data for the bibliometric analysis were obtained from CNKI Chinese Citation Database. The search was performed on June 10, 2019, and citations up to December 31, 2018 were included in analysis. Citations and distributions of articles, authors, institutions, and funds were analyzed based on the following indicators: number of published articles, number of citations, citation rate, citation frequency, and average citation frequency per article. The data for the analysis of assessment indices were obtained from Chinese Science and Technology Journal Citation Reports ( Core version) published by Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China in 2011-2018, and six important assessment indices were extracted, i. e., total citation frequency, core impact factor, overall evaluation score, subject diffusion index, subject impact index, and red point factor, to determine the ranking of Journal of Clinical Hepatology among Chinese Core Journals of Science and Technology and journals in gastroenterology and hepatology. Results In 2011-2018, a total of 2523 articles were published in the regular columns of Journal of Clinical Hepatology ( Original Article, Case Report, and Review) , with 26. 28 articles per issue, and among these articles, 1489 were original articles, accounting for the highest percentage of 59. 02%. As for featured columns ( Commentary/Expert Forum, Guidelines and Standards, and A Brief Introduction of High-quality Articles in Foreign Journals) , 546 articles were published in Commentary/Expert Forum, with 94 in Commentary and 452 in Expert Forum, and the topics of these articles covered internal medicine and surgery for hepatic, biliary, and pancreatic diseases in tradi-tional Chinese medicine and Western medicine; 301 articles were published in Guidelines and Standards, among which Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B ( 2015) had the highest citation frequency of 584; 527 articles were published in A Brief Introduction of High-quality Articles in Foreign Journals, and the excerpts mainly came from top foreign journals in related fields. According to Chinese Science and Technology Journal Citation Reports ( Core version) published in 2011-2018, the total citation frequency of Journal of Clinical Hepatology increased from 626 to 2556 by 308. 31%; the ranking of this journal among Chinese Core Journals of Science and Technology increased from 993 rd to 257 th by 286. 38%, with an average annual increase of 105, and the ranking among the journals in gastroenterology and hepatology increased from 9 th to 1 st. The core impact factor of this journal increased from 0. 35 to 1. 401 by 300. 29%; the total ranking increased 1103 rd to 128 th by 761. 72%, with an average annual increase of 139 places, and the subject ranking increased from11 th to 2 nd. The overall evaluation score of this journal increased from 29. 3 to 69. 2; the total ranking increased from 1292 nd to 155 th by733. 55%, with an average annual increase of 162 places, and the subject ranking increased from 11 th to 2 nd. Conclusion The overall quality of the articles published in Journal of Clinical Hepatology kept increasing in 2011-2018, and the influence of this journal is gradually expanded. This journal ranks in the top places among the core journals in medicine and gastroenterology & hepatology and acts as an important platform for guiding disciplinary development, increasing academic communication, and promoting academic exchange.