NEWS

Tool for Measuring Scholarly Output:  The h-index

An h-index is a tool that is used to assess a researcher’s productivity and academic impact.  Both the quantity and the quality of an individual’s papers (as judged by the number of citations to these papers) are factors in determining the h-index. The higher an author’s h-index, the better.  A high h-index is obtained by publishing a substantial number of papers, but these papers also need to be frequently cited by others in order to elevate the individual's h-index score. For a given individual, one expects that h should increase approximately linearly with time. As a gauge, among 36 new inductees in the National Academy of Sciences in biological and
biomedical sciences in 2005, the average h-index was 57, with the highest = 135 and the lowest = 18.

Example of an Author's h-index

An h-index can be found by using either Scopus or Web of Science (which is part of the Web of Knowledge database).  Web of Science can only be found in the Tufts databases.  Because differences in what is covered by each database, there can be slight variations in the h-index for the same author.

Instructions on finding your h-index can be found on eWorkplace. If you have any additional questions about the h-index, please call Loretta Grikis, Health Sciences Library at 794-1894, or e-mail her at Loretta.Grikis@baystatehealth.org.

Barry Sarvet, MD Promoted to Vice-Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Sarvet, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Tufts University School of Medicine, will assume his new position effective April 1, 2010. Dr. Sarvet has been involved in the design of the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), an innovative statewide program assisting PCPs in responding to children’s mental health problems. With Dr. Steven Boos, he received a $1.2M federal grant for a 3-year project to train community providers in the provision of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy for children with PTSD and their families.

Within the Psychiatry Department, he has served on the Educational Policy Committee and participated actively in the development of the Psychiatry Residency Program which started in July 2009.