Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2002; 127(4): 138-143
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-33307
Original articles
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Citation Rates of Medical German-Language Journals in English-Language papers - Do They Correlate With the Impact Factor, and Who Cites?

G. Winkmann1 , S. Schlutius2 , H. G. Schweim2
  • 1Hürth
  • 2Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information - DIMDI (Komm. Direktor: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. H. G. Schweim), Köln
Weitere Informationen

Publikationsverlauf

3.5.2001

31.10.2001

Publikationsdatum:
13. August 2002 (online)

Auch verfügbar auf
 

Background and objective: Several publications are warning that the German language is no longer needed for transmission of scientific data. One of the causes may be the Impact Factor (IF), which appears to be derived predominantly from Anglo-American journals. The aim of this study was to check actual international attention paid to German- language journals, i. e. their citation frequencies in English-language papers. Are these citing rates in English-language articles correlated to the IF, and from where do citing articles originate?

Methods: Of 25 arbitrarily selected > 85 % German-language medical journals, IF as well as language distributions of citing articles were determined by searching publication years 1995-2000 in Science Citation Index (SCI). MEDLINE and EMBASE were used as supplementary retrieval systems.

Results: (i) The sample journals displayed an average IF = 0.357. A 99 % correlation (Pearson factor r = 0.987; n = 25) was observed between our ” constructed ” IF 2000 and IF published in Journal Citation Report 2000. This proves Stegmann’s IF determination method (31) to be valid. On the average, 53 % German-language and 45 % English-language articles between 1995-2000 cited the 1995-1999’ contributions of the studied journals. No correlation was observed between IF vs. rates of citing articles in English (r < 0.1). 64 % of citing English-language articles showed corporate sources in Germany/ Austria/ Switzerland, and 13.5 % authors’ institutions in USA.

Conclusions: (i) An IF 1 is, obviously, very hard to attain by German-language journals. ISI’s differentiation between Citing vs. Cited-only Journals (the latter often serving as MEDLINE/ EMBASE sources) during derivation of IF appears unjustified. (ii) English now serves as the predominant communication language in sciences in German-speaking countries, but has not supplanted the German language. Our study reveals remarkable international attention rates remaining.

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correspondence

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil Harald G Schweim

Commissioned Director (until May 2002), Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information - DIMDI, 50899 Cologne

President, Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices - BfArM

Kurt-Georg-Kiesinger Allee 3

53175 Bonn, Germany

Telefon: +49/228/207 3203/3204

Fax: +49/228/207 5514

eMail: schweim@bfarm.de