Journal metrics can offer some insight into research quality and impact, and there are a range of metrics available using different data and calculation methods. Rankings lists created from journal metrics are one way of identifying and measuring the relative prestige of a journal within a particular field - e.g., a Q1 journal may carry more esteem within a research discipline.
Journal metrics may be used to:
When selecting a journal in which to publish your research further considerations include:
For more information on selecting quality journals for publishing consult the online guide: Strategic publishing
Below are some of the more commonly used journal metrics and the tools for locating them.
| Metric | Definition | Tools |
|---|---|---|
| SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) | Based on Scopus, this provides a prestige metric based on the subject, quality and reputation of citing journals. Journals are assigned quartile rankings within subject categories based on these metrics. It is included in Scopus Journal Metrics. | |
| Cite Score | Based on Scopus, this is a set of metrics that measure a scholarly journal’s impact. e.g. Cite Score 2022 counts the citations received from 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 | |
| Journal Impact Factor | Number of citations within one year to items published in the last two years. This metric is also available excluding journal self-cites and as a five-year impact factor | |
| Source Normalised Impact per Paper (SNIP) | A free source using Scopus data and weighs citations based on the total number of citations in a subject field thereby allowing for comparisons across different subject fields. It is included in Scopus Journal Metrics. | |
| Citations per publication |
The number of citations received by an entity, divided by the number of publications produced by the entity. |