The Journal of Research and Innovation in Health Sciences – RIICS continues to strengthen its role as a platform for scientific dissemination and academic discussion on current challenges in research communication. In one of its latest publications, the journal presents a study analyzing the differences among the main citation indicators used to evaluate scientific journals.

Bibliometric indicators are widely used tools in processes related to journal classification, visibility, and academic evaluation. Metrics such as SJR, CiteScore, and H5 often influence indexing and categorization systems, including evaluation models like Publindex. However, although they are frequently used comparatively, not all indicators measure scientific impact under the same criteria.

The study published in RIICS analyzed 19 Ibero-American journals in physiotherapy, sports therapy, and rehabilitation indexed in databases such as Scopus and Google Scholar Metrics, aiming to identify the level of relationship and agreement among the SJR, CiteScore, and H5 indicators.

The findings revealed a strong relationship between SJR and CiteScore, mainly because both metrics are based on information indexed in Scopus. In contrast, the H5 indicator showed important differences compared to these metrics, generating significant variations in the ranking positions of some journals analyzed in the study.

These results highlight the importance of interpreting bibliometric indicators from a critical and contextualized perspective, avoiding the assumption that all metrics represent the same type of scientific impact or visibility.

The study also emphasizes the need for further research on how these indicators relate to emerging academic evaluation models, particularly proposals such as the Combined Metrics Index contemplated in Publindex 2026.

Through publications like this, the Journal of Research and Innovation in Health Sciences – RIICS reinforces its commitment to disseminating research that contributes to critical analysis of science, academic visibility, and the evolution of scientific evaluation systems in Ibero-America.

For more information about this study, readers can consult the full article published in the Journal of Research and Innovation in Health Sciences – RIICS.

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