Update on IBE: Impact factor, reference citation, editorial board and 2013 papers of the year

Abstract

I think most of you know by now that our journal, Indoor and Built Environment (IBE), along with 66 other journals has been suspended from the 2012 Journal Citation Report (JCR) published by Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters have implemented this temporary suspension due to high self-citation rates for IBE, suspension for self-citation is usually implemented when Thomson Reuters’ analysis shows that the level of self-citation reaches such a level that the impact factor is no longer representative of the wider impact of a journal. The term ‘self-citation’ means internal citation of published articles (papers) by an author of a paper in the same journal. A two-year suspension is standard procedure in cases of high self-citation. The suspension does not affect IBE’s status as an SCI journal and the journal remains included in other Web of Science products. The journal should be reinstated in the 2014 JCR to be announced in 2015 after assessment of its impact and quality value. As the editor of the journal, I believe it is my responsibility to encourage recognition and citation of published papers whether they have been published in our own journal (self-citation) or in other journals (external citation). Self-citation is a legitimate use of literature to review recent developments in our subject areas, and in many situations, these papers would be the only reference source available and of course they should be used. Nevertheless, the suspension from Thomson Reuters’ 2012 JCR is a result of a rapid rise in selfcitations to IBE; self-citations which I believe are a result of a combination of factors, which I explain below.