Research Support: Journal Citation Reports (JCR)

Journal Citation Reports is journal intelligence that is widely used in the research ecosystem, including:

Librarians can support, evaluate and                 Researchers can discover where to find                       

document the value of the library                        the current reading list in their respective fields.           

research investments.

Publisher can determine journals’                       Authors can identify the most appropriate,

influence in the marketplace to set                       influential journals in which to publish.

their publishing strategy

JIF Quartile:

A journal's quartile ranking is determined by comparing a journal to others in its JCR category based on Impact Factor score. If a journal falls in Q1, it means that the journal performs better than at least 75% of journals in that category, based on its Impact Factor score. 

JIF Percentile:

The journal’s rank in category, determined by Impact Factor, expressed as a percentile. For example, a journal with a JIF percentile of 89 performs better than 89% of journals in that category, based on its Impact Factor score. JIF percentiles give you a more granular view than quartiles do.

Rank Journals in a Category

The Journal Impact Factor identifies the frequency with which an average article from a journal is cited in a particular year. You can use this number to evaluate or compare a journal’s relative importance to others in the same field or see how frequently articles are cited to determine which journals may be better for your collection.

Example 2017 Impact Factor Calculation:

Impact Factor Numerator - Cites to recent items:

The numerator looks at citations in a particular JCR year to a journal's previous two years of content. For example, the 2017 Journal Impact Factor for a journal would take into account 2017 items that cited that journal's 2015 or 2016 content. The numerator includes citations to anything published by the journal in that 2015-2016 timeframe. 

Impact Factor Denominator - Number of recent items:

The denominator takes into account the number of citable items published in the journal in 2015 and 2016. Citable items include articles and reviews. Document types that aren't typically cited, e.g. letters or editorial materials, are not included in the Impact Factor denominator.