Background and Objectives: There are some indices for scientometrics including counting the number of scientific publications and the number of citations to these publications. Hirsch Index(H-index)is widely accepted for scientometrics because it has both qualitative and quantitative components for scientometrics. This study evaluated the scientific outputs of faculty members of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences through measuring the H-index.

Materials and Methods: In this cross- sectional study the publications of 160 faculty members of Rafsanjan medical science university were evaluated. Number of articles and citations to these articles were collected through the Web of science and Scopus databases. Data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA, followed by Tukey's multiple comparisons test & t-test.

Results: The H-index mean values in this university were 1.27±0.2 (evaluated through Scopus database) and 0.9±0.1 (evaluated through Web of Science database).This index was higher for medical school faculty members compared to the other schools (p<0.001). In addition, there was a positive relationship  between increasing job experience and also scientific ranking with the H-index in faculty members.

Conclusion: These findings demonstrated that H-index value for faculty members in this university was lower than the international standard. In addition, the H-index value was lower in Nursing and Midwifery faculty and also in Dentistry faculty compared to the medical faculty.It is recommended to improve H-index of faculty members of these schools by planning training courses in scientific researches and publications.

Key words: Scientometrics , Hirsch index, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Scientific outputs

Funding: This research was funded by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

How to cite this article: Naderi M. Evaluation of Hirsch Index (H-index) in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2016; 15(1): 27-36. [Farsi]