The Hirsch index - a play on numbers or a true appraisal of academic output?

Over the years, different citation indices and bibliometric parameters have been formulated to measure academic output and scholarly activity of researchers and academicians across the globe. The importance of these metrics springs from the fact that various agencies bequeath grants and funds on the basis of these indices. Thus they influence the amount, structure and orientation of research allocation and endorsement [1]. In a dynamic world with limited resources [2], the importance of such bibliometric measures cannot, therefore, be denied. These indices are also used as a foundation for conferring academic awards, hierarchal promotions, tenures, fellowships, salary increments, recruitments and leadership positions [2-5]. These indices are surrogate markers of scientific output [6] and ultimately demonstrate how "efficient" and "effective" a journal is [7]. They can also be considered a self-regulated effort to enforce some measure of quality control in a rapidly growing industry [6].Citation metrics heavily influence the trends of subscription for various scientific journals and serve as a yardstick for authors when they deliberate about where to submit their next best scientific works [7]. According to Ogden et al, "the attraction of having a simple single number to judge complex issues is too great"[7]. Despite their potential shortcomings, some of these citation metrics continue to garner immense momentum and acceptance in the scientific world.Traditionally, the citation metric most often employed in medical circles to evaluate a journal's standing is the impact factor (IF). The IF, first proposed by Eugene Garfield and Irving Sher in 1963 [3], is published by Thomson Scientific Reuters on an annual basis in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR)[1]. The rationale behind the original derivation of IFs was based on their utility in the ease of selection of journals in the Science Citation Index (SCI)[7]. The IF of a journal for a particular year is calculated as "a