If you’ve ever Googled “how to increase your h-index,” you’ve most likely come across the same advice over and over again: “publish more,” “choose popular topics,” “cite yourself.” Some of this is true. But only some of it.
At the same time, there are methods that researchers consider effective, but which in reality either yield no results or even damage one’s reputation. It is especially important for those who publish in Scopus or Web of Science to understand this—after all, that is where your actual Hirsch index is calculated. Regarding, How do journals get into Scopus, and what are the criteria?, as we've mentioned before.
This article contains only facts backed by research. No fluff, no nonsense. 7 real factors + 3 myths that need to be debunked once and for all.
7 Factors That Really Work
1. Co-authorship of highly cited articles
Impact: HIGH
The Hirsch index is allocated equally among all co-authors of an article. If an article has received 80 citations, each of the five authors receives all 80 of those citations toward their h-index. In full.
But what’s more important is this: each co-author brings their own citation network—colleagues from their university, country, and field. This multiplies the visibility of the work.
Perneger’s study (2023, *Research Integrity and Peer Review*)—an analysis of 18,231 leading researchers—shows that an author’s “mid-list” status correlates with the h-index at a level of r = 0.64. In contrast, the correlation for sole authors is negative (r = −0.06).
Conclusion: Strategic collaboration on high-quality projects is one of the most powerful drivers of growth in the Hirsch index.
2. Open Access
Impact: MEDIUM–HIGH
An open-access article is available to any researcher, regardless of whether their university has a subscription. This broadens the pool of potential readers—and those who might cite you.
The meta-analysis by Langham-Putrow et al. (2021, PLoS ONE) included 134 studies: 64 of them (47.8%) confirmed the citation advantage of open access. Open-access articles are cited 18% more than the average; paywall articles are cited 10% less.
The trend is intensifying: according to Frontiers Policy Labs, the proportion of studies confirming the advantages of OA has increased from 66% (2001–2015) to 82% (2016–2021).
3. Quartiles of the journal (Q1 vs. Q4)
Impact: HIGH
Q1 journals have a larger readership, are better indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, and are cited more frequently on a consistent basis.
An important nuance: Citations are counted toward the Hirsch index only if they are indexed in Scopus or WoS. An article published in a non-indexed journal is “invisible” in terms of citations.
For more information on, how Scopus evaluates and accepts journals, And to find out why quartiles are so important for your citation count, read our separate article.
A study by radiology departments (ScienceDirect, 2016): Each unit increase in the faculty’s median h-index raises the department’s h-index by 15.7 points—and this is primarily due to publications in journals with high impact factors.
4. Self-citation—a minimal but real effect
Impact: LOW (at the start of his career—MEDIUM)
Self-citation can help an article exceed the citation threshold required for inclusion in the h-core. But this applies only to authors with a low h-index.
Mayo Clinic (Academic Radiology, 2012) — 487 researchers: after accounting for self-citations, the h-index rose only from 13.7 to 14.0. For the 77% authors, the h-index did not change at all.
For an experienced researcher, self-citation has almost no effect on the outcome. For a beginner, it may slightly accelerate initial growth.
5. Interdisciplinary Research
Impact: AVERAGE (depends on the field)
Interdisciplinary works can be cited by researchers from various fields, which broadens their audience. But there’s a catch: if the range of topics is too broad or the distribution across fields is too even, it reduces their citability.
Yegros-Yegros et al. (2015, PLoS ONE): The diversity of fields in the reference list correlates positively and significantly with citations. However, excessive disparity among fields has a negative effect.
Practical note: Interdisciplinary works often have a delayed citation cycle—the effect becomes apparent after several years, rather than within the standard 2–3-year window.
6. Academic Age — Time in Science
Impact: HIGH (structural)
The Hirsch index can only go up—it never goes down. Hirsch (2005) described it this way: h increases approximately linearly with the number of years of active research.
A study of approximately 1,400 Italian physicists (Rossi et al., 2013): the average h-index/academic age ratio ≈ 3.8. Comparing the h-indices of researchers at different career stages without normalization is methodologically incorrect.
A researcher with h = 20 after 10 years of work may objectively outperform a colleague with h = 28 after 30 years. It is important to understand this when evaluating yourself.
7. Popularity of the topic and alignment with trends
Impact: HIGH (structural)
If your topic is at the center of active scientific discourse (AI in medicine, climatology, mRNA technologies), your work will be cited more often simply because of the larger audience. Current trends in scientific publications in 2026 confirm that choosing a topic is a strategic decision.
Hirsch (2005) himself cautioned that the Hirsch index should only be used to compare researchers within the same field—due to fundamental differences in citation norms.
3 "Methods" That Don't Work
Myth 1: Publish widely and frequently—in low-quality journals
Why do they think that? More publications = a better chance of getting citations.
Why it doesn't work:
• Journals with a low impact factor have a small readership and are rarely cited;
• The h-index is mathematically independent of the number of articles with 0–2 citations. A hundred such publications will not raise the h-index by even a single unit;
• According to Seglen (1992): in most journals, ~85% articles are cited less frequently than the journal’s own average.
A mathematical property of the h-index: a concentration of high-quality publications in a few highly cited works is always better than spreading them out across dozens of weak ones.
Myth 2. Publishing in predatory “indexed” journals
Why do they think that? If a journal states that it is indexed in Scopus / WoS, that means citations will be counted.
Why it doesn't work:
• Scopus and WoS count only citations from journals that are actually verified in their databases.
• Following a comprehensive review in 2017, Elsevier removed all journals on Beall’s List from Scopus.
• Analysis of 7 predatory journals (MIT / Scholarly Kitchen, 2019): Citations virtually ceased after the exposé.
About that, How Ukrainian Researchers Are Being Deceived by Journals That Are Supposedly Indexed in Scopus, — we discuss this in detail in a separate article.
JMLA (2025): Of the 3,671 articles published in 26 predatory medical journals, only 31.4% were cited at least once in the verified WoS literature.
Myth 3. Citation rings and forced citations
Why do they think that? Cross-citation among a group of colleagues quickly boosts the metrics.
Why it doesn't work and what the risks are:
• The Scopus and WoS algorithms identify anomalous citation clusters.
• If detected—retraction of all related articles and a record in the permanent scientific reputation database.
• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) 2026: If a single article is found to be part of a ring, all articles in the network are subject to retraction.
Case Study: SAGE / Journal of Vibration and Control (2014) — 60 retractions following the discovery of a citation ring. The editor’s career was ruined.
How does the Article Academy help increase your h-index?
Knowing these 7 factors raises a logical question: How can we apply them systematically? That’s where we can help.
The Article Academy specializes in publishing research articles in Scopus and WoS journals—the very ones that actually influence the Hirsch index. We help:
• Find a journal for Q1–Q2 in your field
• Avoid predatory journals and publications, or face expulsion
• Get published in verified journals where citations actually count
It is also important to understand Main Reasons for Article Rejection in Scopus Q1–Q2, so as not to waste time on rework after failures.
And for those considering free options—it's worth reading about Publishing in Scopus for Free: Myths and Reality.
Want to boost your h-index? Learn about the h-index improvement service
Conclusion
The Hirsch Index is neither a matter of chance nor a lottery. It is a measurable result of systematic decisions: the right journal, the right co-authors, and the right topic at the right time.
Three factors that you can control—where you publish, with whom you publish, and how in-demand your topic is—produce a real, predictable effect.
Workarounds—predatory journals, citation rings, and scattering articles across dozens of low-quality publications—either yield no results or ruin one’s reputation. These are no longer mere opinions, but documented facts from peer-reviewed studies.
Increasing your Hirsch index is like running a marathon with a strategy. But if your strategy is right, the result is predictable.
