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the ’impact factor’. Garfield himself acknowl-edges that the calculation has its flaws, and he has repeatedly reminded us that the impact factor was not designed for many of the uses to which it is currently put. Below, we will define the impact factor, describe some of the ways in which it is used and misused, and suggest a couple of new ways to assess scientific literature. QUALITY When the Royal Society in the UK set up its first journal in 1645, we can be pretty certain that the founding fathers didn’t wonder what the impact factor might become in the fullness of time. The Society’s aim was, and still is, to publish science of the highest possible qualit