Citation Pioneers: Authors and Their H-Index Stories

Abstract

The h-index, introduced in 2005, is a pivotal author-level research metric designed to gauge an author's productivity and citation impact. This abstract outlines the h-index's calculation method and delves into its advantages, such as resistance to skewing by outliers. However, it also highlights key disadvantages, including variability across databases and disciplines, susceptibility to self-citation, and challenges in cross-researcher and cross-discipline comparisons. Acknowledging these limitations is crucial for researchers and institutions utilizing the h-index for evaluation, necessitating a broader array of metrics for comprehensive author assessment.