Summary
Journal Impact Factors (JIFs) have become one of the most widely recognised indicators of a journal’s influence in its field. For academics and researchers, understanding what impact factors are and how to find them is critical when deciding where to submit a manuscript or which sources to prioritise in a literature review. However, JIFs are often misunderstood or misused, and predatory publishers have learned to exploit this confusion with misleading or fake metrics.
This article explains what an Impact Factor actually measures, how it is calculated, and where to find authoritative Journal Impact Factors using Journal Citation Reports (JCR). It walks you step by step through accessing JCR, searching for a journal, and interpreting key indicators such as the current JIF, JIF trend graphs, five-year impact factors, and related metrics like the Immediacy Index and Eigenfactor Score. It also reviews alternative metrics (such as SCImago Journal Rank), warns against unreliable “impact” indicators commonly used by predatory journals, and offers advice on how to use impact factors wisely when choosing journals or evaluating sources.
Most importantly, the article emphasises that while JIFs can be helpful, they should be only one piece of the puzzle in assessing quality. Editorial standards, peer-review rigour, readership, and alignment with your research topic are just as important. To ensure that your own submissions meet a journal’s expectations, it is also essential to follow its author guidelines carefully and to have your work thoroughly edited by experienced human proofreaders, such as the specialists at Proof-Reading-Service.com, before you submit.
📖 Full-Length Article: The Process of Finding and Using Journal Impact Factors (Click to collapse)
How To Find Impact Factors of Journals – And Use Them Wisely
Introduction: Why Impact Factors Matter
For researchers, choosing where to publish is a strategic decision. The journal you select influences who reads your work, how often it is cited, and how it is perceived by hiring committees, promotion panels, and funding bodies. One of the most frequently consulted indicators in this decision is the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). Although impact factors are far from perfect, they have become an influential shorthand for the perceived prestige and reach of academic journals.
Beyond publication strategy, impact factors can guide your literature review. When faced with dozens of possible sources, knowing which journals are highly cited can help you prioritise reading. At the same time, researchers increasingly recognise that JIFs can be misused—both by institutions that treat them as a measure of individual quality, and by predatory publishers who advertise fake or misleading “impact” metrics.
To make informed decisions, you need to understand what a Journal Impact Factor actually measures, where to find accurate values, and how to interpret them in context. This guide will take you through the process step by step.
1. What Is a Journal Impact Factor?
The Journal Impact Factor, usually abbreviated as JIF, is a metric originally developed by Eugene Garfield and now calculated annually by Journal Citation Reports (JCR). It is designed to reflect the average number of citations received in a given year by articles published in a journal during the previous two years.
For example, the 2018 Impact Factor for a journal is calculated as follows:
- Count all citations received in 2018 to items (usually articles and reviews) published in that journal in 2016 and 2017.
- Divide this number by the total number of “citable items” (typically articles and reviews) that the journal published in 2016 and 2017.
If a journal published 200 citable items in 2016–2017 and those items were cited 600 times in 2018, its 2018 JIF would be 600 ÷ 200 = 3.0. This number is then reported in the 2019 edition of Journal Citation Reports, labelled as the 2018 Impact Factor.
JCR provides separate editions for the Sciences and the Social Sciences, and assigns journals to one or more subject categories (e.g. “Oncology”, “Sociology”, “Environmental Studies”). Impact factors can therefore also be compared within categories, which is often more meaningful than comparing raw numbers across very different fields.
2. Where Can You Find Authoritative Impact Factors?
If you are browsing journal websites, you may see “Impact Factor” mentioned prominently on the journal’s homepage. While reputable publishers (such as Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, etc.) generally report correct values, this is not guaranteed across the entire web. Unfortunately, some predatory journals display invented or misleading metrics designed to mimic official JIFs.
Use Journal Websites With Caution
As a first step, you can often find impact factors by visiting the journal’s official website and looking for sections such as “About the Journal”, “Journal Metrics”, or “Journal Impact”. Many publishers even provide summary metric tables listing impact factors for all their titles. For example, a quick search for “publisher name + journal impact factors” will often lead you to a page that aggregates JIFs for all its journals.
However, because fake metrics are increasingly common, you should always treat claims on a journal’s site with a healthy degree of scepticism. Look for the specific phrase “Journal Impact Factor” or “Impact Factor (JCR)”, and beware of unfamiliar metrics with impressive-sounding names (e.g. “Global Impact Factor”, “Universal Impact Factor”, “Cosmos Impact Factor”, “CiteFactor”). These indicators are often used by predatory publishers and are not recognised as authoritative by the academic community.
Go Straight to Journal Citation Reports for Verified JIFs
To be absolutely certain you are seeing genuine Journal Impact Factors, you need to consult Journal Citation Reports (JCR), which is produced by Clarivate. JCR is not open access, but most universities and research institutions subscribe to it. You can usually reach it through your institutional library’s database portal or via Web of Science.
Once you have access, the process is straightforward:
- Go to the JCR landing page.
- Click on “Browse by Journal” (or equivalent) to access the journal search interface.
- In the search box labelled “Go to Journal Profile”, start typing the title of the journal you are interested in.
- As you type, JCR will suggest journal titles that match your query. Select the correct journal from the dropdown list.
- You will be taken to that journal’s profile page, which contains the official JIF and other key metrics.
By default, JCR shows metrics for the most recent year and includes both Science and Social Science editions. You can refine these settings using the filters on the left if you want to focus on a particular year or edition.
3. Understanding the Journal Profile in JCR
When you open a journal’s profile page in JCR, you will see a rich set of information. Knowing how to interpret this data can help you move beyond a single number and develop a more nuanced view of the journal.
Current-Year Impact Factor and Components
At the top of the profile, JCR displays the current-year Journal Impact Factor, often alongside the Impact Factor calculation (total citations divided by citable items). This section typically includes:
- The numerical JIF (e.g. 4.752).
- The number of citable items used in the calculation.
- The total number of citations that contributed to the JIF.
Nearby, you will often find a list of cited items – the articles and reviews from the preceding two years that generated the citations counted in the JIF. Inspecting this list can help you understand which kinds of content (e.g. reviews vs original research) are most influential within the journal.
Trend Graphs and Historical Data
The JIF for a single year is only a snapshot. To understand a journal’s trajectory, click on “All Years” above the graphs. This reveals:
- A JIF trend graph showing how the impact factor has changed over time.
- A citation distribution graph displaying how citations are spread across articles.
- A Key Indicators table for each year the journal has been indexed in JCR.
In the Key Indicators chart, the JIF is usually listed in the third column. Other columns show metrics such as:
- Total Citations: The total number of citations the journal’s articles received in a given year.
- Five-Year Impact Factor: Similar to the JIF, but calculated using a five-year window instead of two years.
- Immediacy Index: The average number of times an article is cited in the year it is published.
- Eigenfactor Score: A measure that considers both the number of citations and the importance of the citing journals.
You can click the “Graph” link below each column to see visualisations of how those metrics have evolved. Clicking on specific values often reveals the underlying data and methodology.
4. Impact Factor vs Other Journal Metrics
Impact Factors are not the only way to evaluate journals, and in some cases they are not the best way. JCR and other platforms provide alternative metrics that offer complementary perspectives:
- Five-Year Impact Factor: Reduces the influence of short-lived citation spikes and may be more suitable for fields where citations accumulate slowly.
- Eigenfactor Score: Weighs citations from highly cited journals more heavily, similar to Google’s PageRank, and is not influenced by self-citations.
- Article Influence Score: Reflects the average influence of each article, adjusted by field.
- SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): An alternative metric based on Scopus data, freely available via the SCImago Journal & Country Rank website.
These indicators can help overcome some of the limitations of the standard JIF, especially when comparing journals across different disciplines or evaluating journals with very different publishing practices.
5. Avoiding Fake Metrics and Predatory Publishers
Because researchers and institutions place so much emphasis on impact measures, unscrupulous publishers have invented their own “metrics” to make their journals appear more influential than they really are. Common warning signs include:
- References to non-standard metrics such as Global Impact Factor (GIF), Universal Impact Factor (UIF), or CiteFactor.
- Lack of clear information about peer review, editorial boards, and publishing standards.
- Unsolicited emails promising “fast publication” and boasting of high “impact” without linking to JCR or recognised databases.
When in doubt, always cross-check any claimed impact factor or ranking in trusted sources such as Journal Citation Reports or SCImago. If you cannot find a journal in these databases, be cautious, especially if it demands publication fees.
6. Using Impact Factors Strategically – But Not Blindly
Once you know how to find reliable impact factors, the next step is learning how to use them responsibly.
Choosing Where to Submit Your Work
When selecting a target journal, consider impact factors alongside other criteria:
- Scope and audience: Does the journal regularly publish work on your topic? Are its readers the people you want to reach?
- Peer-review standards and editorial quality: Does the journal have a reputation for rigorous review and careful editing?
- Open access options and visibility: Will your article be easily accessible to the researchers who need it?
- Impact Factor and other metrics: Within your field, is the journal considered influential? How does its JIF compare with similar titles?
A moderately ranked journal that is read closely by your specific community may be more valuable than a very high-JIF journal where your article is less likely to reach its ideal audience or be accepted at all. Aligning your research with the right journal is often more important than chasing the very highest impact factor.
Evaluating Literature and Building Your Bibliography
Impact factors can also help you make strategic choices when reading and citing literature. For instance, you might:
- Prioritise reading articles from journals with strong reputations when you first explore a new topic.
- Use JIFs and related metrics to identify key journals in your field.
- Balance highly cited, “classic” papers with newer work from emerging but reputable journals that may not yet have high JIFs.
Remember, however, that a single article can be excellent even if it appears in a journal with a modest impact factor. Always read and evaluate the content itself; do not assume quality based solely on the journal’s metrics.
7. Final Tips and the Role of Professional Proofreading
As you shape and submit your work, keep the following in mind:
- Start early: Identify suitable journals and check their metrics while you are still drafting your manuscript, not after it is finished.
- Use reliable sources: Trust only JCR, SCImago and official publisher sites for impact factors and ranking information.
- Think long term: Consider how publishing in a journal will affect your visibility, not just its JIF in a single year.
- Follow journal guidelines rigorously: Even the highest-quality research can be rejected if it ignores submission rules or is poorly presented.
Finally, remember that presentation matters. Editors and reviewers expect manuscripts that are clearly written, correctly formatted, and free from language errors. In an age when AI-generated text is increasingly restricted and often detectable, the most reliable way to ensure that your article meets professional standards is to have it checked by experienced human proofreaders. Services such as Proof-Reading-Service.com can help you align your manuscript with a journal’s expectations, fix language issues, and ensure that your work is presented in the best possible light.
By combining a clear understanding of impact factors with careful journal selection, rigorous scholarship, and high-quality writing, you can navigate the publication process with greater confidence and position your research for maximum impact.
