Understanding Academic Impact: h-index vs. h10-index

Author: Shashikant Nishant Sharma

In the realm of academia, measuring the impact of a researcher’s work is vital for evaluating their contributions and influence within a specific field. Various bibliometric indicators have been introduced to quantify this impact, with the h-index and its variant, the h10-index, being prominent measures. These indices provide valuable insights into a scholar’s productivity and citation impact, aiding in academic decision-making processes.

The h-index: A Comprehensive View of Scholarly Impact

The h-index, also known as the Hirsch index after physicist Jorge E. Hirsch who introduced it in 2005, is a numerical indicator that combines both productivity and citation impact. It is based on an individual’s scholarly publications and the citations those publications receive.

Specifically, an author possesses an h-index of h if they have h papers, each of which has been cited at least h times. In simpler terms, it represents the number of publications (h) that have garnered at least h citations. For instance, an h-index of 10 (h=10) means a researcher has published 10 papers, each cited at least 10 times.

The h-index is widely used across academic disciplines to assess the overall impact and productivity of researchers. It provides a balanced measure, taking into account both the quantity and quality of a scholar’s research output. Academic institutions often consider the h-index when making hiring decisions, evaluating promotions, and assessing research grant applications.

The h10-index: Focusing on Recent Impact

While the h-index provides a comprehensive view of a researcher’s career-long impact, it may not always reflect recent contributions accurately. This is where the h10-index comes into play. The h10-index is a variant of the h-index that specifically focuses on the most recent impact of a scholar’s work.

Similar to the h-index, the h10-index is calculated by identifying the number of papers (h10) that have been cited at least 10 times. However, unlike the h-index, which considers a researcher’s entire body of work, the h10-index only takes into account the citations garnered by papers within the past 10 years. This enables a more precise evaluation of a scholar’s recent and ongoing contributions.

The h10-index is particularly useful when assessing the evolving impact of a researcher, especially in fields where the relevance and influence of work tend to change rapidly. It helps gauge the contemporary significance of a scholar’s research output and provides a current snapshot of their scholarly impact.

The h-index and h10-index are both bibliometric measures used to evaluate the research output and impact of scholars, particularly in academia. These indices provide a quantitative measure of a researcher’s productivity and citation impact in the academic community.

1. h-index (Hirsch index): The h-index is a numerical value that quantifies both the productivity and citation impact of a scholar’s published research. It was proposed by physicist Jorge E. Hirsch in 2005. An author has an h-index of h if they have h papers that have each been cited at least h times. For example, an h-index of 10 (h=10) means that a researcher has published 10 papers, each of which has been cited at least 10 times.

The h-index is widely used in academia and is considered a useful tool to assess a researcher’s overall impact and productivity. It is often used in hiring decisions, promotions, and funding applications.

2. h10-index: The h10-index is a variant of the h-index that considers only the citations of a scholar’s papers within the most recent 10 years. It is useful in situations where you want to evaluate a researcher’s recent impact rather than their entire career impact. The h10-index is calculated similarly to the h-index, but it only considers the number of papers that have been cited at least 10 times within the last 10 years.

The h10-index is valuable when you want to assess a researcher’s recent and ongoing contributions to their field, especially when considering advancements and impact in more recent research.

In summary, the h-index measures the overall impact of a scholar’s work throughout their career, while the h10-index specifically focuses on their recent impact within the last 10 years. Both indices provide different perspectives on a researcher’s influence and productivity, helping in evaluating their scholarly contributions.

Conclusion

In the academic world, bibliometric indicators like the h-index and h10-index play a crucial role in assessing a researcher’s impact and contributions. The h-index offers a comprehensive view of a scholar’s career-long influence, considering both the quantity and quality of their work. On the other hand, the h10-index hones in on recent impact, capturing the citations garnered by a researcher’s papers within the last 10 years.

Both indices are valuable tools in evaluating researchers for academic positions, promotions, and funding opportunities. By understanding and utilizing these measures effectively, academic institutions and stakeholders can make informed decisions regarding scholarly contributions and their societal impact.

References

Alonso, Sergio, et al. “h-Index: A review focused in its variants, computation and standardization for different scientific fields.” Journal of informetrics 3.4 (2009): 273-289.

Bornmann, Lutz, and Hans‐Dieter Daniel. “What do we know about the h index?.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and technology 58.9 (2007): 1381-1385.

Egghe, Leo. “An improvement of the h-index: The g-index.” ISSI newsletter 2.1 (2006): 8-9.

Hirsch, Jorge E. “Does the h index have predictive power?.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104.49 (2007): 19193-19198.

Kelly, Clint D., and Michael D. Jennions. “The h index and career assessment by numbers.” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 21.4 (2006): 167-170.

Sharma, Shashikant Nishant, ed. New perspectives in sociology and allied fields. EduPedia Publications (P) Ltd, 2016.