h-index
What
The h-index is a single numerical value used to represent the combined effects of a researcher's productivity (number of publications) and impact (citations). It was first introduced by Professor Jorge Hirsch in his paper “An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output”.
The h-index is the number of publications (h) which have been cited at least (h) times each. For example, a researcher who has an h-index of 10, has at least 10 publications which have each been cited at least 10 times.
Why
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To demonstrate productivity and impact
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To benchmark peers within the same discipline (use with caution)
Applications
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Funding applications, Academic promotion, Job application
Considerations
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Due to differences in publishing and citing behaviour, h-index is not a useful comparison across disciplines
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Favours longer career lengths
Common tools
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Scopus
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Web of Science
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Google Scholar
How to: Find your h-index
Scopus
Access your Scopus Author Profile to view author metrics data from Scopus, including the H-Index in the top section of the author profile page.
Please note: the H-Index from Scopus only takes into consideration documents that are indexed in the Scopus database.
Web of Science
Create your Web of Science Researcher Profile for the most accurate data from Web of Science. Your profile will include author metrics, including your Web of Science h-index in the panel on the right hand side of the screen.
Please note: Although you can add any publications to a Web of Science Researcher Profile, the H-Index will only be calculated based on the publications indexed in Web of Science Core Collection.
Google Scholar
The easiest way to find your H-Index according to Google Scholar is to create an author profile and include all of your publications. Your H-Index will appear in the author details to the right of your profile.
Please note: Citations tracked by Google Scholar are not controlled for quality in the same way as Scopus or Web of Science. Metrics from Google Scholar may appear higher and may include errors. However, it can provide better indexing of journal articles and citations in disciplines such as the humanities and social sciences, than the traditional citation databases.