Journal CiteScope Reports
Mission
- Metrics are refreshed on a regular schedule (e.g., monthly or quarterly), depending on data availability and verification results.
- Each journal page shows the Last Updated timestamp.
- We retain historical yearly values when available (e.g., Annual IF 2023, 2024, 2025).
- If a calculation method is improved, we document the change in a Methodology Update Log and apply it consistently.
- Journals may request a data review if:
- ISSN/website details are incorrect
- Publication counts are missing/duplicated
- Articles are misclassified by document type
- Verified corrections are reflected in the next scheduled update (or sooner if the error is critical), and the journal profile will show the updated timestamp.
- Journal identifiers and metadata (e.g., journal title, ISSN/eISSN, publisher, website)
- Article-level metadata (e.g., title, authors, publication year, document type, references, DOI where available)
- Citation signals that are available through publicly accessible sources and can be cross-checked
- A journal is included only when its publication metadata is consistent and verifiable.
- If data is incomplete or cannot be verified, the journal may be labeled Insufficient Data or placed Under Review.
- Each metric definition is published in our Methodology / Metrics Definitions page.
- Each journal profile displays the metric year, counts used (items and citations), and the last update date so results can be validated.
- Metrics reflect citations captured within our covered sources and may differ from other platforms due to differences in databases, indexing rules, and document-type counting.
The 2025 release of Journal Citation Reports will include:
Essential for journal evaluations
Benchmark your journal’s performance against others in a discipline
Explore a rich array of leading indicators, descriptive data and compelling visualizations to make confident portfolio decisions and gain a deep understanding of a journal’s influence on the global research community.
Identify journals that are critical to your researchers’ and institution’s success
Ensure your library collections support rigorous research and teaching and make data-driven decisions about your open access strategy.
Find the right journals to publish in to amplify the reach, recognition and influence of your work.
Evaluate journals with multiple indicators, including the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), alongside descriptive open access statistics and contributor information.
Trusted, independent source of journal intelligence
Objective
Assess journals with unbiased, publisher-neutral information the research community has relied upon
Transparent
Uncover the relationship between article and journal citations
Responsible
Evaluate journals with multiple indicators, including the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), alongside descriptive open access statistics and contributor information.
Metrics Definitions (Journal CiteScope Reports)
Annual Impact Factor
A time-relevant indicator of how frequently a journal’s items published in a given year are cited within the same year. Formula (Year Y)=Citations received in Year Y ÷ Number of items published in Year Y How to interpret: Higher values indicate more same-year citation activity per published item. Because citations often take time to accumulate, AIF values may be lower early in the year and increase as the year progresses.
CiteScore
Measures the average citations per published item over the last 18 months, then scales the value by 18/12 to reflect an 18-month normalized indicator. Formula:(Citations in Y + 0.5 Citations in (Y-1)) /( Number of publication in Y+ 0.5 Number of publication in (Y-1))× (18/12)
Impact Factor
CiteScore
Apply for Indexing
Minimum Eligibility Requirements
A valid ISSN/eISSN A public journal website accessible without login Clearly stated Aims & Scope A visible Editorial Board (names and roles)
Integrity & Verification Checks
During review, we verify: Website consistency and transparency of policies Metadata completeness and consistency across recent issues Citation behavior signals (e.g., unusually high self-citation or citation stacking patterns may lead to Flagged or Under Review status)
Application Form
Journal Title ISSN eISSN (if available) Journal Website URL Publisher / Organization Name
“Applicants should ensure all policy pages are publicly accessible. Incomplete applications may be delayed.”
Apply for Indexing
- Manhattan, New York, NY, United States
- +974-999-7777-000
- Mon-Fri - 08:00-19:00
Learn how you can make confident decisions using Journal citescope Reports.
F.A.Q
What’s the difference between Journal CiteScope Reports and Journal Citation Reports (JCR)?
Journal CiteScope Reports is an independent indexing and analytics service. It provides journal insights using publicly verifiable data sources and our own transparent selection criteria and metric definitions.
Data source
- JCR: Based on Web of Science citation data.
- CiteScope Reports: Based on public/open and verifiable sources (as documented in our Methodology).
- JCR: Includes journals indexed in Web of Science and meeting Clarivate’s evaluation standards.
- CiteScope Reports: Includes journals that meet our eligibility + integrity checks and have verifiable data availability.
- JCR: Publishes the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and other Clarivate-defined indicators based on a two-year period
- CiteScope Reports: Uses an annual, time-relevant citation indicator, calculated as: Impact Factor (Annual) = Citations received in a given year ÷ Number of items published in the same year.This approach is intended to provide a more time-relevant snapshot of current-year citation activity.
- In Journal CiteScope Reports, our time-relevant indicator is calculated as:
- Annual CiteScope Score (Year Y) = Citations received in Year Y to items published in Year Y ÷ Number of items published in Year Y
- This is different from JCR’s Journal Impact Factor (JIF), which is based on citations in the JCR year to items from the previous two years, divided by the number of citable items in those two years.
How are journals selected for Journal CiteScope Reports?
Minimum eligibility requirements
- A valid ISSN/eISSN and a publicly accessible journal website
- Clear information on aims & scope, editorial board, and the peer-review process
- Consistent article metadata (titles, authors, publication dates, references) and preferably DOIs
- Publicly stated publication ethics and policies (e.g., plagiarism, conflicts of interest)
- We index journals only when we can reliably collect and verify publication metadata and citation signals from public sources, so results can be checked and reproduced.
- We screen for red flags such as unclear peer-review claims, missing policies, inconsistent editorial information, or abnormal citation behavior (e.g., excessive self-citation or citation stacking). Journals may be excluded or flagged if concerns are identified.
- Indexed journals are reviewed periodically. A journal may be updated, flagged, or removed if its policies change, metadata becomes unavailable, or integrity issues arise.
How are the Annual Impact Factor and CiteScope Score used transparently?
1) Clear formulas (published openly)
- Annual Impact Factor (Y) = Citations received in year Y to items published in year Y ÷ Number of items published in year Y
- CiteScope Score (Y) = Average citations received in year Y by items published in year Y (same-year average)
3) Verifiable data sourcesAll calculations rely on publicly verifiable metadata and citation signals described in our Methodology page, so the results can be checked independently.