Are there really two types of <I>h</I> index variants? A validation study by using molecular life sciences data

Due to the disadvantages of the h index that have been named since Hirsch's first publication of the index in 2005 (Hirsch, 2005), a number of variants that are intended to compensate for the weaknesses have been proposed. Bornmann et al (2008a, 2009b) tested (1) whether the variants developed are associated with an incremental contribution for evaluation purposes against the h index, (2) whether there is any need at all for the h index and its...