(20 June 2019) On June 20th, the Web of Science Group, a Clarivate Analytics company, released the 2019 Journal Citation Reports (JCR). This latest release extends the run of an annual event that stretches back nearly a half-century. In that time, the JCR has evolved, with its measurements for journal evaluation refined, expanded, and elucidated. This year is no exception, as the JCR continues its progression from a vehicle for citation-based journal metrics to a comprehensive platform for journal intelligence.
The 2019 edition accelerates the JCR’s expansion, with new data points that provide deeper context and a more detailed view of the many elements that drive journal performance. This array of information also brings greater insight, not only into a given journal’s value as judged by the scientific community, but into its overall place in the communication and advancement of research.
Highlights
Reflecting a year that saw the landscape of journal publishing continue its rapid evolution, the 2019 release (covering data compiled for 2018) includes these summary highlights:
- Coverage of 11,877 journals, including 283 titles new to the JCR – 138 of them fully Open Access.
- Research and scholarship representing 81 countries.
- Among covered journals, 64% demonstrate an increase in Journal Impact Factor (JIF).
- In 90% of the 236 research categories, an increase in the aggregate JIF.
- After thorough investigation of anomalous citation behavior, 17 journals were suppressed from the 2019 JCR to ensure the integrity of the data.
New for 2019
Last year’s edition of the JCR introduced a redesigned Journal Profile Page for each journal entry. In addition to its transparent detailing of the JIF calculation, including the relative contributions of various document types, the profile page offers further specifics and context. For example, users can ascertain the most significant contributions among individual papers, institutions, and countries/regions.
For 2019, ongoing refinements and additions to the Journal Profile Page and to the JCR as a whole include:
- Augmented graphics that track a journal’s percentile rank in a category by JCR year.
- A breakdown of the journal’s Uncited items per article and review, imparting a deeper view of journal performance.
- Views of Citing and Cited Journal data, with a summary of key indicators and a metrics trend graph.
- An enhanced Article Match Retrieval link service, allowing publishers and other users to directly link to the Journal Profile Page and promote the link on their website.
- Reflecting new areas of research concentration, the addition of three new subject categories: Quantum Science & Technology(Science Citation Index Expanded), Development Studies (Social Sciences Citation Index [SSCI]), and Regional & Urban Planning (SSCI).
What has not changed in the 2019 edition is the JCR’s mission to provide a thorough, publisher-independent, multifaceted view of journal performance, reflecting the world’s highest-quality scientific and scholarly literature.
Publishers, librarians, researchers, and others depend on the JCR to track specific titles, inform the maintenance of journal collections, and identify the best-fit journals in which to publish. Grounded in the meticulous selection and curation of top journals, and subject to constant editorial vigilance and quality control covering the integrity of the data and the development of new measures, the JCR remains an essential resource.
Visit the JCR website to explore all data, metrics, and analysis available.
The original press release is here.
