[Plugin Request] Journal Impact Factors Import

0d981
I can't code but for I have an idea for a plugin and I think it could be useful for many people.

Import a CSV file with the latest journal impact factors. Zotero matches the journal name with the impact factor values and populates them into new columns in Zotero: Impact factor "IF" and Impact Factor 5 years "IF5" (or h-index, or SCImago.... etc. etc.).

You should be able to overwrite the columns with an updated CSV file every year.

I got the idea from this plugin below but its no longer compatible with Zotero and hasn't been updated in a while. I also don't like that it populates in the "Extra" column

https://github.com/peumartino/ZotIF
  • aborel
    edited 4 days ago
    I see various problems with this request, but before I start an argument that might not be constructive, I will ask the following: what would be the usefulness of this information?

    For sure, many people might say that they like the idea, but what is the actual use case?
  • 0d981
    I mean I'm not attached to the idea so don't worry about an argument. If you have something better I'm all ears.

    What I want is a plugin that tells me the Impact Factor and 5-year Impact Factor for a particular journal. I should be able to batch import them without me needing to manually go through each paper.

    In simple words, the same way you have plugins that show the citation counts for a particular paper, I want to also be able to see the journal impact factors—the default 2-year IF and the 5-year IF. Hope this is clear.

    Currently there are a few plugins that do this but they require an EasyScholar login which I can't have because I don't have a Chinese phone number
  • aborel
    But why are you trying to associate the impact factor of the journal (for a specific year) with an article in this journal? How do you want to use this information?
    That's what I'm curious about, because I can't see the intended goal - and without this I can only offer objections (technical or logical, sometimes strongly opinionated, too), and that's certainly not the best way to discuss this request :-)
  • 0d981
    edited 4 days ago
    The simple answer is that I am not associating the IF with the individual article. I simply want to stay informed about this widely used metric. It's convenient to see everything in one glance in Zotero.

    This isn't unique to me. Popular plugins like Green Frog and Ethereal Style already do this but they require chinese phone numbers. It would be nice if someone could make a similar plugin for the rest of the world
  • aborel
    Thanks for the details!
    I know the interest in impact factors is very common, but it is often misguided in my opinion (which is the philosophical root of many objections of mine). With this out of the way, here are some technical challenges that I'm seeing, and possible ways to address them if someone is interested in developing the plugin:

    - accessing the impact factor data: the full list is proprietary information. Access to the Journal Citation Reports https://clarivate.com/academia-government/scientific-and-academic-research/research-funding-analytics/journal-citation-reports/ could be a requirement, or someone could assemble a smaller dataset in CSV format using the IFs advertised by the journals themselves.
    - depending on the source, there could be small differences in the journal titles between one's library and the IF data that will complicate matching. For articles with a DOI, it is probably better to match with the journal ISSN that can be found in the Crossref metadata.
    - "populates them into new columns in Zotero": I think that's a non-starter, Zotero has no functionality for this as far as I am aware. Extra fields or notes are the places where custom data can be stored.
  • 0d981
    edited 2 days ago
    I agree with you about the limitations of IFs. Some of the highest quality articles I've ever read were published in journals with modest IFs but it's just that the field is niche.

    I think IFs have uses if they've been contextualized (just like any statistical metric). The reality is that society uses IFs. The same way a GPA is technically useless, it's still part of the system. But I agree that IFs should not be used uncritically. And if society gets rid of IFs eventually—I'm okay with that. But until it does, it's useful information from a practical standpoint.

    Thanks for brainstorming this plugin with me. I don't understand the technical stuff which is why I'm hoping someone will design this for the community.

    The "Ethereal Style" plugin creates a bunch of new columns in Zotero so that's what I was picturing. It has one called "IF" and "Publication tags" which shows the IF and SJR. The thing is it's just taking this information directly from "EasyScholar"... and there's no equivalent here.

    If anyones interested in this idea I would check out that plugin and see if anything can be done. Sadly I'm not skilled enough to do it myself
  • 0d981
    Here's a thread where someone had the same idea - https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/9290/impact-factor-for-zotero-citations/
  • aborel
    > The "Ethereal Style" plugin creates a bunch of new columns in Zotero

    It's always nice to learn something new, I didn't know that. Thanks!
  • dstillman
    (There's a new API for custom item tree columns in Zotero 7.)
  • damnation
    I think the Eigentfactor API could be used for something like that, no?
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