H-Index in Web of Science

The Web of Science uses the H-Index to quantify research output by measuring author productivity and impact.

H-Index = number of papers (h) with a citation number ≥ h.  

Example: a scientist with an H-Index of 37 has 37 papers cited at least 37 times.  

Advantages of the H-Index:

  • Allows for direct comparisons within disciplines
  • Measures quantity and impact by a single value.

Disadvantages of the H-Index:

  • Does not give an accurate measure for early-career researchers
  • Calculated by using only articles that are indexed in Web of Science.  If a researcher publishes an article in a journal that is not indexed by Web of Science, the article as well as any citations to it will not be included in the H-Index calculation.

Tools for measuring H-Index:

  • Web of Science
  • Google Scholar

This short clip helps to explain the limitations of the H-Index for early-career scientists: