The H-Index: Understanding Its Predictors, Significance, and Criticism

Overview

Journal J Family Med Prim Care

Specialty Public Health

Date 2024 Jan 8

PMID 38186773

Authors

Himel Mondal

Kishore Kumar Deepak

Manisha Gupta

Raman Kumar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The h-index is an author-level scientometric index used to gauge the significance of a researcher's work. The index is determined by taking the number of publications and the number of times these publications have been cited by others. Although it is widely used in academia, many authors find its calculation confusing. There are websites such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and Vidwan that provide the h-index of an author. As this metrics is frequently used by recruiting agency and grant approving authority to see the output of researchers, the authors need to know in-depth about it. In this article, we describe both the manual calculation method of the h-index and the details of websites that provide an automated calculation. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the h-index and the factors that determine the h-index of an author. Overall, this article serves as a comprehensive guide for novice authors seeking to understand the h-index and its significance in academia.

Citing Articles

Research trends and hotspots of laser therapy in hemangioma: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.

Nie J, Dong X, Tasimeti D, Zhu Y Lasers Med Sci. 2025; 40(1):107.

PMID: 39979455 PMC: 11842401. DOI: 10.1007/s10103-025-04312-2.

Gender influence on career trajectory as a shoulder and elbow surgeon.

Haff C, Childers J, Forbes J, Lack B, Jackson G, Sabesan V Shoulder Elbow. 2025; :17585732241310513.

PMID: 39866905 PMC: 11758429. DOI: 10.1177/17585732241310513.

Mapping the knowledge landscape of the PET/MR domain: a multidimensional bibliometric analysis.

Hu X, Peng J, Huang M, Huang L, Wang Q, Huang D Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025; .

PMID: 39754665 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-024-07043-8.

The application of ChatGPT in nursing: a bibliometric and visualized analysis.

Wang P, Zhang Q, Zhang W, Sun J Front Med (Lausanne). 2025; 11:1521712.

PMID: 39744533 PMC: 11688491. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1521712.

A Study of Citations: Bibliometric Analysis of the 100 Top-cited Publications on Panic Disorder.

Bhatia G, Kabra V, Chandi A, Mathur R Indian J Psychol Med. 2024; :02537176241259143.

PMID: 39564274 PMC: 11572498. DOI: 10.1177/02537176241259143.

References

Wang R, Lewis M, Zheng-Pywell R, Julson J, Smithson M, Chen H . Using the H-index as a factor in the promotion of surgical faculty. Heliyon. 2022; 8(4):e09319. PMC: 9061622. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09319. View

Sampson M, Barrowman N, Moher D, Klassen T, Pham B, Platt R . Should meta-analysts search Embase in addition to Medline?. J Clin Epidemiol. 2003; 56(10):943-55. DOI: 10.1016/s0895-4356(03)00110-0. View

Sahu D . Small journal vs. high impact journal: Dilemma of a new author. Indian J Pharmacol. 2010; 41(3):95-6. PMC: 2861819. DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.55201. View

Pan R, Kaski K, Fortunato S . World citation and collaboration networks: uncovering the role of geography in science. Sci Rep. 2012; 2:902. PMC: 3509350. DOI: 10.1038/srep00902. View

Niyazov Y, Vogel C, Price R, Lund B, Judd D, Akil A . Open Access Meets Discoverability: Citations to Articles Posted to Academia.edu. PLoS One. 2016; 11(2):e0148257. PMC: 4757559. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148257. View

Mingers J, OHanley J, Okunola M . Using Google Scholar institutional level data to evaluate the quality of university research. Scientometrics. 2017; 113(3):1627-1643. PMC: 5691114. DOI: 10.1007/s11192-017-2532-6. View

Nowak J, Lubarski K, Kowalik L, Walkowiak J . H-index in medicine is driven by original research. Croat Med J. 2018; 59(1):25-32. PMC: 5833098. DOI: 10.3325/cmj.2018.59.25. View

Koltun V, Hafner D . The h-index is no longer an effective correlate of scientific reputation. PLoS One. 2021; 16(6):e0253397. PMC: 8238192. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253397. View

Burnham J . Scopus database: a review. Biomed Digit Libr. 2006; 3:1. PMC: 1420322. DOI: 10.1186/1742-5581-3-1. View

10.

Trapp J . Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar citation rates: a case study of medical physics and biomedical engineering: what gets cited and what doesn't?. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med. 2016; 39(4):817-823. DOI: 10.1007/s13246-016-0478-2. View

11.

Moffatt D, Shah P, Wright A, Zon K, Pine H . An Otolaryngologist's Guide to Understanding the H-index and How It Could Affect Your Future Career. OTO Open. 2022; 6(2):2473974X221099499. PMC: 9087246. DOI: 10.1177/2473974X221099499. View

12.

Ramezani-Pakpour-Langeroudi F, Okhovati M, Talebian A . Do highly cited clinicians get more citations when being present at social networking sites?. J Educ Health Promot. 2018; 7:18. PMC: 5852979. DOI: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_69_17. View

13.

Schreiber W, Giustini D . Measuring Scientific Impact With the h-Index: A Primer for Pathologists. Am J Clin Pathol. 2018; 151(3):286-291. DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqy137. View

14.

Eysenbach G . Citation advantage of open access articles. PLoS Biol. 2006; 4(5):e157. PMC: 1459247. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040157. View

15.

Katchanov Y, Markova Y, Shmatko N . Comparing the topological rank of journals in Web of Science and Mendeley. Heliyon. 2019; 5(7):e02089. PMC: 6667838. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02089. View

16.

Mondal H, Mondal S . A Brief Review on Article-, Author-, and Journal-Level Scientometric Indices. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2022; 13(5):578-584. PMC: 9595167. DOI: 10.4103/idoj.idoj_729_21. View

17.

Dinis-Oliveira R . The H-index in Life and Health Sciences: Advantages, Drawbacks and Challenging Opportunities. Curr Drug Res Rev. 2019; 11(2):82-84. DOI: 10.2174/258997751102191111141801. View

18.

Acuna D, Allesina S, Kording K . Future impact: Predicting scientific success. Nature. 2012; 489(7415):201-2. PMC: 3770471. DOI: 10.1038/489201a. View