Long-Term vs. Short-Term Impact: Part II

Date: July 6, 1998Cumulative Impact Factors In the February 2, 1998 issue of The Scientist (12[3]:11-12), we published the list of the 100 highest-impact journals for the period 1981-95. This study emphasized long-term cumulative impact rather than short-term or current impact. The main focus of these data were the articles published in 1981-82. We chose these two years so that 15 years of cumulative citations could be compiled. To many of our readers, these years must seem remote. But for some

Written byEugene Garfield
| 3 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

Date: July 6, 1998Cumulative Impact Factors
In the February 2, 1998 issue of The Scientist (12[3]:11-12), we published the list of the 100 highest-impact journals for the period 1981-95. This study emphasized long-term cumulative impact rather than short-term or current impact. The main focus of these data were the articles published in 1981-82. We chose these two years so that 15 years of cumulative citations could be compiled. To many of our readers, these years must seem remote. But for some of our readers, our study did not go far enough. The editor of Arthritis and Rheumatism wondered why his journal was not included. The simple answer is that his journal was the 101st on our list. So we have rectified that "omission" by including below the next 100 journals in the ranked database.

All these data were extracted from the Journals Performance Indicators file of the Institute for Scientific ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies