Conclusions on Journal Impact Factor

While at this point it seems impossible to quantify the relative contributions of the different factors influencing the reliability of scientific publications, the current empirical literature on the effects of journal rank provides evidence supporting the following four conclusions:

1. Journal rank is a weak to moderate predictor of utility and perceived importance;
2. Journal rank is a moderate to strong predictor of both intentional and unintentional scientific unreliability
3. Journal rank is expensive, delays science and frustrates researchers;
4. Journal rank as established by IF violates even the most basic scientific standards, but predicts subjective judgments of journal quality.