Can the technological impact of academic journals be evaluated? The practice of non-patent reference (NPR) analysis

• Published in: Scientometrics Vol. 101; no. 1; pp. 17 - 37
• Main Authors: Liaw, Yi-Ching, Chan, Te-Yi, Fan, Chin-Yuan, Chiang, Cheng-Hsin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2014; Springer
• Subjects: Bibliometrics. Scientometrics; Bibliometrics. Scientometrics. Evaluation; Citations; Computer Science; Exact sciences and technology; Government-sponsored research; Indexes; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Information Storage and Retrieval; Library and information science. General aspects; Library Science; Property, Intellectual; Ranking; Rating; Scholarly publishing; Science; Sciences and techniques of general use; Scientific research; Technology; Non-patent reference; Impact factor; Journal ranking; Patents; Research field; Research institute; Filing; Periodical; Citation index; Scientific research; Citation
• ISSN: 0138-9130; 1588-2861
• DOI: 10.1007/s11192-014-1337-0

Journal rankings and journal ratings are important to governments, research institutes, and scientific research in general, and they frequently serve as the criteria for evaluating research performance to determine whether specific researchers will receive promotions and/or earn research grants. However, the only widely adopted journal assessment method is known as impact factor (IF), which focuses on citations in academic journals. However, IF disregards the technological applications and value of academic journals. In this article, we propose a method to rank academic journals that utilizes non-patent references in patent documents. We also compare the differences between journal rankings derived by using IF with those derived from the Intellectual Property Citation Index (IPCI) across different fields; moreover, some fields contain positive and significant correlations between IF and the IPCI. The results of this study offer a new perspective from which to assess the technological value of academic journals, particularly those in the technological and scientific fields. This study considers linkages among science and technology and the needs of the stakeholders in journal assessment to shed light on journal assessment and journal ranking methods.