RE: Open access and impact factor

["Rick Anderson" <rickand@unr.edu>]

> Rick Anderson's question is interesting even though it demonstrates some
> attachment to the concept of an absolute scale of value.

Actually, I'm more interested in impact factor as a relative measure;
obviously, there's no way to really assess the absolute value of any
particular article.

> If this is correct, this shows that Nature acts as an impact
> factor amplifier, independently of the intrinsic quality of the article
> under consideration.

No, because Nature actually has a reputation for publishing high-quality
articles.  So while it's true that publication in Nature is not an
ironclad guarantee of high quality, it would be going too far to say that
publication in Nature has nothing to do with quality.

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Rick Anderson
Director of Resource Acquisition
University of Nevada, Reno Libraries
(775) 784-6500 x273
rickand@unr.edu