Journal quality
Consider journal quality when you:
- want to publish
- choose what you will read or cite
- are evaluating your overall publication metrics.
There are multiple indicators of journal quality. Some of them are discipline specific. Use journal impact measures with other metrics as no single number will give a complete picture.
Not all funders will allow the use of journal metrics. It is important to check the grant guidelines before using one of these indicators.
Use Journal Search (UQ login required) in UQ eSpace to evaluate the different quality measures of a journal or list of journals.
Journal quality indicators
Find this indicator via Journal citation reports. It is updated yearly.
How it is calculated
Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is used for Web of Science journals.
It is defined as all citations to the journal in the current year to items published in the previous two years, divided by the total number of scholarly items (articles and reviews).
An example of a JIF calculation
| Factor | 2022 | 2023 | Total for 2024 |
| Citations to items published | 758 | 740 | 1,498 |
| Number of citable items | 29 | 22 | 51 |
Citations in 2024 to items published: 2022 (758) + 2023 (740) = 1,498
Number of citable items: 2022 (29) + 2023 (22) = 51
JIF is 1,498 ÷ 51 = 29.4
A typical article or review from this journal has been cited about 29 times, one or two years after publication.
Calculation adapted from the Clarivate Journal Impact Factor reference guide (PDF, 304KB). Check the guide for more information.
Eligible journals
All Web of Science Core Collection journals are eligible for the JIF, including:
- Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
- Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
- Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)
Arts and Humanities only categories will not be ranked by JIF (i.e. a rank and quartile will not be available for these journals). - Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).
Use when
Publications are indexed in Web of Science.
Cannot be used to compare across different disciplines.
More about Journal Impact Factor
Watch Journal Impact Factor and article-level data (YouTube, 2m 04s)
Find this indicator via Journal citation reports. It is updated yearly.
How it is calculated
Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) is used for Web of Science journals.
The value is the mean Category Normalised Citation Impact (CNCI) for all articles and reviews published in the most recent three years (e.g. a value of 1.0 means that across the journal, published papers received a number of citations equal to the average citation count in that category).
Eligible journals
All Web of Science Core Collection journals are eligible for the JCI, including:
- Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
- Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
- Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)
- Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).
Use when
Publications are indexed in Web of Science.
The normalisation steps make it more reasonable to compare journals across categories, but comparisons are best made in adjacent fields that share similar citation patterns (within the Physical Sciences or Arts and Humanities, for example).
More about Journal Citation Indicator
Find this indicator via Sources in Scopus. It is updated yearly.
How it is calculated
CiteScore is used for Scopus journals.
In any given year, the CiteScore is based on the number of citations to documents (articles, reviews, conference papers, book chapters, and data papers) by a journal over four years, divided by the number of the same document types indexed in Scopus and published in those same four years.
Example CiteScore calculation
For 2024:
- 16,755 citations 2021–2024
- 1,626 documents 2021–2024
CiteScore is 16,755 ÷ 1,626 = 10.3
Check CiteScore metrics FAQs for more information.
Use when
Publications are indexed in Scopus.
Cannot be used to compare across different disciplines.
Find this indicator via Sources in Scopus.
How it is calculated
Source Normalised Impact per Paper (SNIP) is used for Scopus journals.
It is the ratio of the average citation count per paper and the citation potential of its subject field for a journal. It is a field-normalised metric and can help you make a direct comparison of journals in different subject fields.
The average SNIP value for all journals in Scopus is 1.000.
Check more about SNIP in Scopus.
Use when
Use for Engineering, Computer Science and Social Science disciplines when:
- journal rank is not important
- investigating across different fields.
Find via the Scimago Journal and Country Rank.
How it is calculated
Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) is used for Scopus journals.
It represents the average number of weighted citations received in the selected year by documents published in the chosen journal during the previous three years. SJR also takes differences in the behaviour of academics in different disciplines into account and can be used to compare journals in different fields.
The weighted average SJR value for all journals in Scopus is 1.000.
Check the Scimago website for more about the SJR methodology.
Use when
Use for Life and Health Science disciplines:
- in fields where the best journals cover the most topical research
- when investigating across different fields.
Find at Eigenfactor Journal Ranking.
How it is calculated
The Eigenfactor score is based on the weighted number of citations in a given year to citable publications published in the journal within the 5 preceding years. Citations from publications published in more prestigious journals will receive greater weight than those from less prestigious journals. Self-citations are excluded from the calculation.
Eigenfactor Score and Article Influence Score: Detailed Methods (PDF, 68KB) has more information about the calculation.
Use for
Established researchers with publications indexed in Web of Science.
Journal listings
The Essential Science Indicators journal list includes all active journal titles that are eligible to be included in Essential Science Indicators (ESI), a schema used to classify highly cited papers in Web of Science.
Business, Economics and Tourism
The Australian Business Deans Council Journal Quality List is targeted at business disciplines in Australia.
Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
- Arts and Humanities Citation Index
- Australian Political Studies Association Journal List
- Social Sciences Citation Index
Science and Engineering
- Nature index includes a selected group of high quality science journals.
- The CORE Rankings Portal is targeted at the computer science discipline, ranking conferences and journals in Australia.