Press release: OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS GET IMPRESSIVE IMPACT FACTORS

["Grace Baynes" <Grace@biomedcentral.com>]

*With apologies for cross posting*

Press release: 23 June 2005 

OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS GET IMPRESSIVE IMPACT FACTORS

Journals published by BioMed Central get new impact factors from ISI*

Impressive impact factors prove that BioMed Central's Open Access journals
are high quality and widely read and cited. Journals published by BioMed
Central have again received impact factors that compare well with
equivalent subscription titles, it was announced today, with five titles
in the top five of their specialty. The high impact factors for these
journals affirm that they are respected by researchers, and are fast
becoming the place for authors to submit important research findings.

Five journals published by BioMed Central received their first impact
factors this year. BMC Bioinformatics, with an impact factor of 5.42, has
reinforced its reputation as one of the top journals in its field.
Launched in 2000, it is the second highest ranked bioinformatics journal,
and already has an impact factor comparable to that of Bioinformatics
(5.74), the most established journal in the field, which has been
publishing for more than two decades and is supported by a major society.

BMC Genomics enters the Journal Citation Report with a respectable 3.25.
This puts it in the top third of the genetics titles, and the top 20% of
biotechnology journals. BMC Molecular Biology has an impact factor of
3.12, and BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders an impact factor of 1.00, putting
it in the top half of the orthopaedics listing. BMC Genetics has an impact
factor of 0.92.

Critical Care's impact factor jumped from 1.9 to 3.21, and the journal is
now third in the critical care medicine field having leap-frogged the
competitor title Intensive Care Medicine, the official journal of the
major European society. Breast Cancer Research also increased it's impact
factor from 2.93 to 2.98 and remains the second highest ranking breast
cancer journal. Arthritis Research & Therapy maintains its rank of second
in the rheumatology field with an impact factor of 4.55.

A number of other journal published by BioMed Central also saw their
impact factors and rankings improve. BMC Infectious Diseases jumped from
1.25 to 2.07. BMC Cell Biology, with an impact factor of 2.62, is now in
the top half of the cell biology listing. The impact factor for BMC Health
Services Research almost doubled, from 0.68 to 1.23. BMC Cancer went up
from 1.70 to 2.29 and BMC Public Health now has an impact factor of 1.55.
With an impact factor of 4.03, Respiratory Research is the fifth most
cited journal in the highly competitive respirology field.

The impact factors, which are calculated by ISI, look at citations in 2004
of articles published in the journals in the period 2002-2003.
 
According to Dr Matthew Cockerill, Director of Operations at BioMed
Central, "These latest impact factors show that BioMed Central's Open
Access journals have joined the mainstream of science publishing, and can
compete with traditional journals on their own terms. The impact factors
also demonstrate one of the key benefits that Open Access offers authors:
high visibility and, as a result, a high rate of citation."

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Press Office Contacts:

Grace Baynes for BioMed Central
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
E-mail: press@biomedcentral.com