---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is common, and encouraged by many…"
description: "\"It is common, and encouraged by many journals, for research to be judged by the impact factor of the journal that publishes it. But as a journal's scor..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/randy-schekman-37239_average_it-is-common-and-encouraged-by-many-jour_2057647.jpg"
---

#  It is common, and encouraged by many journals, for…

![“It is common, and encouraged by many journals, for research to be judged by the impact factor of the journal that publishes it. But as a journal's score is an average, it says little about the quality of any individual piece of research.” quote by Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/randy-schekman-37239_average_it-is-common-and-encouraged-by-many-jour_2057647.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/randy-schekman-37239_average_it-is-common-and-encouraged-by-many-jour_2057647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/randy-schekman-37239_average_it-is-common-and-encouraged-by-many-jour_2057647.jpg)

> “It is common, and encouraged by many journals, for research to be judged by the impact factor of the journal that publishes it. But as a journal's score is an average, it says little about the quality of any individual piece of research.”

[Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Impact factor reflects average journal quality, not the merit of individual articles, yet it heavily influences research evaluation.

**In simple terms:** Impact factor is an average, not a measure of each paper's quality.

Key Takeaway

Assess research on its own merits.

Themes

research evaluation metrics academic publishing

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

informational analytical

When to use this quote

- grant applications
- career advancement

Key Concepts

impact factor quality assessment peer review

Questions to Reflect On

- How can researchers showcase quality beyond metrics?
- What alternatives exist for evaluating research?

A Different Perspective

relying on impact factor can misjudge valuable work.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/)

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