ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Eigenfactor

Eigenfactor is like counting how many important friends we have.

Imagine you have a lot of friends, but some of them are more popular than others. They may know more people, have more followers on social media, or be more successful in their jobs.

Eigenfactor is a way to measure the popularity and importance of scholarly journals based on how many times other important journals cite them. It’s like saying that The New York Times is more important than a local newspaper because it is referenced by more people and other important journals.

Just like it’s helpful to know who our popular friends are, scientists and researchers use eigenfactor to understand which journals are respected and influential in their field. This helps them decide which research to trust and which journals to publish in.