h-index

The h-index is a measure of academic impact of a researcher that is defined as follows:

A researcher has h-index n if n of his/her articles each have n or more citations while his/her remaining articles each have n or fewer citations.

The main advantage of the h-index is that it combines a measurement of both quantity (number of articles) and quality (impact or citations to these articles). A research with a high h-index must have published a substantial number of articles that were cited a large number of times. The h-index is preferable over the mere number of articles, as it corrects for articles that are rarely cited. It is also preferable over the total number of citations, as it corrects for “one hit wonders,” i.e., academics who might have authored or co-authored a limited number of highly cited articles, but have not shown a sustained and durable academic performance. The h-index favors academics that publish a continuous stream of articles with lasting and above-average citation impact.

It is relatively easy to use Scopus or Web of Science, the two most comprehensive abstract and citation databases of peer-reviewed literature, to find out the h-index of any researcher.