Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A bibliometric study reports h-index distributions across a field as context for further analysis.
- Is an instance
A scholar discloses their h-index with a caveat about field norms in a reflective piece.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Comparing h-index across disciplines as a ranking criterion in hiring.
- Not an instance
Setting an h-index threshold for promotion eligibility.
Editorial commentary
The h-index is computed from a citation list by sorting papers by citation count in descending order and finding the largest h where the h-th paper has at least h citations. It conflates productivity and impact in a single integer. The metric is field-dependent (citation cultures and densities differ widely), time-dependent (it can only grow), database-dependent (Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science return different values), and insensitive to highly cited outliers above the threshold. Responsible-assessment frameworks (DORA, Leiden Manifesto, CoARA, Hong Kong Principles) explicitly caution against using h-index for hiring, promotion or funding decisions.
References
- Hirsch JE, PNAS 102(46):16569-16572, 2005. Bornmann L & Daniel HD 'The state of h index research', 2009.
Also known as
Hirsch index · h
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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