LISNews: Librarian News

Lee Hadden writes: \"In a letter to Nature in the June 27, 2002 issue, is a discussion about the impact factor in Spanish scientific publications.

See: \"Impact-factor rewards affect Spanish research
\", the print copy of Nature 417, 898 (2002) or at: Nature.com (subscription required).\"

In Spain, as in Finland, publication of research reports in journals with a high impact factor has since 1989 officially been part of the national system for evaluating researchers\' productivity. But unlike the Finnish system, the Spanish system rewards individuals rather than departments or institutions.

As stated in the Spanish parliamentary record, a bonus is awarded only for \"those articles of scientific worth in journals of recognized prestige in the field. As a quality indicator, the relevance of the medium of dissemination in which each article was published shall be considered. In those disciplines for which international systems of quality of publications exist, reliance on these systems shall be obligatory.\"