Superiority of the h-index over the Impact Factor for Physics

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Focusing specifically on physics periodicals, I show that the journal Impact Factor is not correlated with Hirsch's h-index. This implies that the Impact Factor is not a good measure of research quality or influence because the h-index is a reflection of peer review, and thus a strong indicator of research quality. The impact gap between multidisciplinary journals and physics-only journals is significantly reduced when h is used instead of the Impact Factor. Additionally, the impact of journals specializing in review articles is inherently deflated using h because of the limited number of annual publications in such periodicals. Finally, a reordering of the top ranking journals occurs with h when only the physics articles of multidisciplinary journals are considered, falling more in line with the average physicist's interpretation of a journal's prestige.