Rating an academic journal—indexing and impact factor

Upon the conclusion of its first year of existence many colleagues have asked how EBSJ is faring on the road toward becoming a recognized academic entity. To this end there are two major recognized elements: Indexing and Impact Factor. On the part of the first entity EBSJ can proclaim a first major victory. EBSJ has been accepted for indexing in PubMed®, the largest search engine for medical literature in the world. This step will include retroactive recognition of our back issues. Please join me in thanking our publishers, staff, and all participating authors, reviewers, and editors who have made this possible. Our quest for inclusion in other search engines will continue with renewed energy. The second commonly recurring question is what is the impact factor of a new journal, how is it calculated, and when EBSJ would be rated in this fashion? Since these questions are asked often, I thought it might be interesting to review this subject briefly in the editor’s message.