A journal's impact factor is a tool many researchers use to measure their research impact. This year, CIBER was commissioned by UKSG and COUNTER to look at the feasibility of an alternative measure, the Journal Usage Factor, based on download statistics rather than citations. CIBER's report explores the following questions:

• How should the usage factor be calculated and presented?
• What are the usage characteristics of different document types?
• How stable is the usage factor over time?
• Could the usage factor be 'gamed' by people or machines?

You can also download COUNTER's results, recommendations and next steps.

Springer dealt with the same issues last year in a paper called Usage Measurements for Digital Content.