Citation metrics and Impact Factors fail as measures of scientific quality, in particular in taxonomy, and are biased by biological disciplin and by geographic and taxonomic factors
Based on my experience and analyses of citation frequencies of papers published in various biological journals, I discuss the use of citation counts and journal Impact Factors as measures of scientific quality. I conclude that citation frequency differs not only among biological sub-disciplines such as ecology and taxonomy, but also among taxonomic papers on highly similar topics, and that these l
