Significance of Variable Contributing Factors on Impact Factor of Clarivate Analytics Dental Journals

Abstract Background Increasing pressure on researchers and academicians to publish in high impact factor (IF) journals necessitates selecting useful quality journals in academia. Objectives To review IF’s role and the factors that influence the IF of dental journals, including the journals’ quartile distribution. Methods The Editorial board size of the journal, age of the journal, status (print or electronic) of publication, frequency of publication, quartile, and 5-year IF of all Clarivate Analytics’ oral-dental journals (Dentistry, Oral Surgery, and Medicine) were investigated. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized. The information was obtained from individual websites of the journals and Web of Science databases. Results The result shows that all four variables (Editorial board size, frequency of publication, status, and age of journals) were not correlated with the IF, and there was no statistically significant difference found on the IF based on all four factors. Discussion Studies on all four factors contribute to the current IF of individual journals. Five-year and yearly progress trends of journals with quartile rankings are helping to make learning choices for journal selection. The selection of high IF dental journals is a current need for oral health care professionals from academia. Irrespective of the impact factors, publish and flourish policy may be adopted by academic institutions to promote a writing culture. Incentives should be offered to faculty of academic institutions, and adequate time should be allocated to promote publishing culture. Novice authors should be encouraged to start writing and not initially only focus on high IF journals, as with time, quality should follow. If articles are published in medical journals, the keywords should include dental/or dentistry, so it could be classified in the dental literature as well, wherever it is applicable. Conclusion There is no influence on any of the four factors. The larger Editorial board size and higher frequency of publications per year were not significantly associated with the IF. Comparison of IF with status and age of journals also showed no association with the IF. Any particular journal’s choice should be based upon the current IF, journal quartile ranking, and journal domain specificity. Further research on acceptance rate, open access, waiting time, and cost influencing journal selection is suggested.