Impact factor in AIDS and other infectious diseases

The impact factor (IF) is the most accurate system currently available for objectively evaluating the scientific productivity of individual researcher s and institutions. It represents the quality level of a periodical and, at the same time, is a convenient reference parameter for the researcher to u se in choosing an appropriate journal before submitting his own work for co nsideration. From this standpoint, we conducted an analysis of periodicals with the highest IF, including those strictly related to infectious disease s and HIV/AIDS, specialty journals, and general medicine reviews. This was done in order to determine just how much of these journals' total 1998 prod uction consisted of articles concerning HIV infection and AIDS. This examin ation, conducted through a search of the MEDLINE database, predictably reve aled greater interest in the HIV/AIDS topic among journals with the highest IF that focus on infectious diseases, though the same interest revealed wh en examining specialty journals and general medicine periodicals was not ne gligible.