In scientometrics, there is a significant number of indicators for assessing the scientific activity of a scientist, research institution, higher education institution, and so on. One of the best-known and most effective for this purpose is the Hirsch index (h-index). This indicator takes into account not only the number but also the quality of publications, expressed in the number of citations. What is the Hirsch index? How does this indicator affect a scientist’s career, and what value is considered good? Let us consider this in our material.
What is the Hirsch index?
Hirsch index is a scientometric indicator that helps assess a researcher’s scientific productivity and the citation level of their works. It was proposed in 2005 by physicist Jorge Eduardo Hirsch, a representative of the University of California, San Diego.
The h-index shows how many scientific publications by an author have been cited a certain number of times. For example, if a scientist’s Hirsch index is 4, this means that at least 4 of their works have no fewer than 4 citations each. The higher this indicator, the more noticeable the researcher’s contribution to the scientific field is considered to be.
The Hirsch index is used in such scientometric databases as Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, and is one of the common tools for assessing an author’s scientific activity.
Why should a scientist increase their Hirsch index?
A high h-index is one of the indicators of a scientist’s recognition in the academic environment. If a researcher’s works are actively cited by other scientists, this indicates their relevance, scientific value and practical significance. That is why the Hirsch index is often regarded as confirmation of stable, productive and influential scientific activity.
Increasing the Hirsch index can open up new professional opportunities for a scientist: contribute to career growth, strengthen academic reputation, increase the chances of participating in grant programmes and expand international scientific recognition.
What level of the h-index can be considered high?
There is no single universal indicator that can be considered high for all scientists. The level of the h-index depends on the field of science, the number of years of research activity, publication activity and the citation characteristics of a particular area.
- Beginners in science: postgraduate students and doctoral students. For scientists at the early stages of an academic career, an h-index within the range of 5-10 may already indicate noticeable results of research work and initial recognition in the scientific environment.
- Experienced scientists: professors and specialists with long-standing experience. For researchers with many years of academic experience, a significant number of publications and stable citation rates, an h-index within the range of 20-40 can be considered a substantial indicator, especially in the natural sciences, in particular physics, biology or medicine.
- Recognised figures in science. An h-index of more than 50 usually indicates a high citation rate of scientific works, a significant contribution to the development of the field and broad international recognition of the author. Such an indicator is most often typical of scientists with a large number of works indexed in Scopus, Web of Science or Google Scholar.
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