The Journal of the American College of Radiology’s impact factor has increased for the fifth year in a row, reaching 16 percent growth over the course of the last year, according to data from the recently released 2018 Journal Citation Report.
The JCR, published annually by Philadelphia company Clarivate Analytics, found the JACR ranked third this year among general radiology journals and 28th among all journals the JCR considers either radiology-, nuclear medicine- or medical imaging-centric.
The JCR calculates its journal impact rankings by dividing the number of citations in one year by the total number of scholarly articles published two years before that, according to a release. The equation aims to measure a journal’s relevance to the scholarly publishing community.
With an impact factor of 3.383 in this year’s report—up from 2.929 last year—the JACR rose two spots from its previous general ranking.
“This is the fifth consecutive year JACR’s impact factor has increased—every year since JCR first assigned an impact factor to the Journal,” Bruce J. Hillman, MD, FACR, outgoing editor-in-chief of the JACR, said in the release. “This continuous high level of performance reflects our ongoing commitment to provide our readers the highest-quality research and commentary by and for radiology professionals.”
Hillman has been editor-in-chief of the JACR since he co-founded the publication alongside doctors Harvey L. Neiman and E. Stephen Amis 15 years ago. He said he has no doubts the incoming editor, Ruth C. Carlos, MD, MS, “will continue to further this growth trajectory as radiology and healthcare continue to rapidly evolve,” and said he’s honored to be succeeded by her.
Carlos is set to take the reins of the JACR in January 2019 following a three-month transitional period.
“Bruce Hillman, the inaugural editor-in-chief, shaped the JACR into one of the most widely read and influential journals advancing our priority to deliver exceptional evidence-based care,” she said in a statement from the ACR. “I am truly honored to succeed Bruce in this position and look forward to guiding the journal into its next phase of growth and impact.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.