Editorial. Quality is better than quantity when it comes to publications

The journal impact factor (JIF) and how best to rate the performance of an academic using the h-index were topics in two recent editorials (Jackson et al. 2009, Thompson & Watson 2009). The Hirsch (2005) h-index is becoming widely accepted to assess a researcher’s scientific output (Cronin & Meho 2006) and can be easily obtained using popular electronic databases such as Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and Google Scholar (Bakkalbasi et al. 2006). The h-index combines quantity (number of publications) and impact (number of citations) and can be calculated for an individual, a group of researchers or journal (Schubert & Glanzel 2007, Vinkler 2007). In this editorial, we expand on the two previous ones by examining JIFs of the top 12 nursing journals and the corresponding number of citations accrued since 1995. In addition, we examine the current standing of nursing journals within the competitive citation stakes to that of other medical specialities, which show that editors and researchers in nursing need to ‘lift their game’ to remain competitive to publish high quality papers. In the long run, quality is better than quantity when it comes time to assess a person’s academic performance for grants, tenure or promotion.