Scholarly Publisher's Toolkit

Journal Ranking

One of the most difficult things is deciding where to publish. Examination of journal rankings and the metrics behind them helps point the way to not only understanding what journals are considered highly revered, but also which ones are most often cited. Google Scholar maintains a journal ranking page, but there are other more informative methods available. 

Journal Impact

If you are a scholar planning to publish a journal article, you will be looking for a reputable journal to provide the best exposure for your work. For the qualitative aspects of this problem see the section in this guide regarding how to Avoid Predators. The quantitative aspects are addressed by various forms of journal rankings, which attempt to estimate a journal’s relative importance compared with other journals in the same field.

Journal Impact Factor (JIF)

JET library offers two ways to access this type of information, Cite Score via Scopus and SciMago Journal & Country Rank (JCR) via our BrowZine interface. Examples of navigating each are available in this guide, so only a brief explanation of it will be given here. The JIF is the most established indicator of journal ranking, and measures the frequency with which the “average article” published in a journal has been cited in a particular period. The default period is two years. For example:

• 2017 impact factor = (number of citations in 2017 of articles published in 2015-2016) ÷ (number of articles published in 2015-2016)
• Five-year 2017 impact factor = (number of citations in 2017 of articles published in 2012-2016) ÷ (number of articles published in 2012-2016)

The JIF has been criticized for various limitations, such as inclusion of citations of materials e.g., editorials and letters that are not included in the denominator of the calculation formula, the inclusion of self-citations and the lack of evaluation of the quality of the origin of the citation.

Disclaimer:

Systems based on the rate at which a journal’s content is cited are all subject to certain inherent limitations and vulnerabilities:

• Publication and citation practices vary among disciplines, making comparisons across different subject areas difficult.
• Rates of citation are not necessarily stable over time, and can be affected by such factors as the rise of multiple authorship of papers.
• Generally, no distinction is made between favorable and unfavorable citations, so they are not a sure indication of merit.
• Rankings may be affected by certain editorial practices, such as publishing numerous review articles.
• Journal rankings can be manipulated by excessive self-citation, or by groups of authors colluding to cite each other’s work.

For all their imperfections, journal rankings nonetheless provide valuable information. A list of the best-known systems follows.

Portions of this content courtesy the University of Winnipeg.

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Journal Citation Reports™ metrics on the ProQuest Platform

Metrics from Journal Citation Reports

When available, ProQuest provides metrics from Journal Citation Reports that can help you evaluate the impact of a journal. These metrics are provided for journals that are a part of the Web of Science Core Collection.

Directions to get to the JCR metrics in ProQuest

Best Option:

1. Go to the JETfind Journal Finder
2. Type in the name or ISSN of a journal
3. Click the title to see more information about the journal
4. Under View it, look for a ProQuest access point such as ProQuest Central, and click that link

This will bring you to the journal's page in ProQuest. If the JCR metrics are available, they will show on this page.

Other Option:

1. From the library's website, go to  A-Z databases and then you have two options:
   • Select ProQuest Databases, then
     1. Click select all, to choose all the available databases
     2. Click "use selected database" button to go to the next screen
   • Or select a specific ProQuest database like ProQuest Central
2. Find and click on Publications. This will be beneath the databse title and above the search box
3. Search or browse for your journal or publication of choice
4. Click on the title of the publication

This will bring you to the journal's page in ProQuest. If the JCR metrics are available, they will show on this page.

Learn more about CiteScore from Scopus:

To use CiteScore, follow the steps below:

1. Open CiteScore / Sources by Scopus. Note: Off campus users will be asked to Login for Library Access.
2. Browse by Subject Area or change the dropdown to Title, Publisher, or ISSN.
3. Click on the Title to get more information

Example with the journal title Ear and Hearing.

Sample of Journals by Rank in the Category of Speech and Hearing.

Sample of Journals by Rank in the Category of Biochemistry

CiteScore 2022 Methodology

CiteScore 2022 counts the citations received in 2019-2022 to articles, reviews, conference papers, book chapters and data papers published in 2019-2022, and divides this by the number of publications published in 2019-2022.

• Frequency: CiteScore is calculated annually and not updated. The CiteScore Tracker is calculated 12 times per year and is updated monthly.
• 4 year publication window: The 4-year CiteScore time window provides a robust assessment of citations to papers after their publication. A 4-year publication window is a good fit for all subject areas and is long enough to capture the citation peak of the majority of disciplines.
• Publication types: The CiteScore calculation (numerator and denominator) consists of the following publication types: articles, reviews, conference papers, data papers and book chapters.

CiteScoreTracker 2023 uses the same methodology with citations based on the latest 2023 data.

Learn more about SRJ: Scimago

From any journal accessed via BrowZine, select the SJR link located on the left hand side of the Journal Cover. Example

Which goes to the SJR website:

Unfortunately SJR makes you click through again based on their linking scheme, but when you do you'll ultimately get the report: