Bibliometric positioning of scientific manufacturing journals: a comparative analysis

This article analyzes some of the most popular scientific journals in the Manufacturing field from the point of view of four bibliometric indicators: the ISI impact factor (ISI-IF), the Hirsch (h) index-for-journal, the total number of citations and the h-spectrum. h-spectrum is a novel tool based on h, making it possible to (i) identify a reference profile of the typical authors of a journal, (ii) compare different journals and (iii) provide a rough indication of their “bibliometric positioning” in the scientific community. Results of this analysis can be helpful for guiding potential authors and members of the scientific community in the Manufacturing area. Of particular interest is the construction of maps based on h-spectrum and ISI-IF to compare journals and monitor their bibliometric positioning over time. A large amount of empirical data are presented and discussed.