A troubling trend in research is the reliance on the journal impact factor (IF) to establish a perceived "value" or importance of scholarly publications. Given that the IF of different scholarly journals may vary greatly, this phenomenon not only influences which journals receive submissions, but is beginning to influence the type of research that scholars will undertake, promotion and tenure decisions, and even the success of grant applications. This article describes what IF is and how it is affecting published research in the academic discipline of health, physical education, recreation, and dance. (Contains 1 table.)