Journal Citation Reports (JCR), produced by Clarivate Analytics, is a comprehensive tool designed to evaluate and compare academic journals using robust citation data. Here is an overview of what the product does and its key features and functionality:
Purpose and Scope
Journal Citation Reports provides a systematic and objective means to critically evaluate the world’s leading journals across various fields, including science, technology, and social sciences. It aggregates citation data from approximately 21,000 scholarly and technical journals and conference proceedings from over 113 countries, making it a global benchmark for journal assessment.
Data Sources
JCR draws its data from the Web of Science Core Collection, specifically from the Science Citation Index-Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and also includes journals from the Arts and Humanities Citation Index and the Emerging Sources Citation Index.
Key Features
Citation Data and Metrics
- JCR offers detailed citation data, including the number of articles published, the number of times the articles were cited, and various derived metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), Immediacy Index, and other citation-based indicators. These metrics help in measuring the research influence and impact of journals.
Journal Profiles
- Each journal profile includes a wide array of data points such as citation counts, subject categories, number of articles published, citing and cited journals, contributor affiliations, and open access article counts. This information is updated annually with the most recent completed year’s citation data.
Filtering and Comparison
- Users can filter journals by various criteria including publisher, JCR date, JIF quartile, and citation indexes. Journals can be sorted by journal title, JIF, and percentage of open access articles. Additionally, users can compare multiple journals side-by-side to evaluate their performance.
Visualization and Analysis
- JCR allows users to visualize trends and citation distributions, providing a clear understanding of the context surrounding a journal’s Journal Impact Factor. It also enables users to identify key contributors based on author affiliations and analyze which articles have contributed the most citations to a journal’s impact factor.
Open Access and Citation Network Analysis
- The tool helps in identifying open access articles within hybrid journals and assesses how a journal is being cited by other journals in the citation network, including competitors.
Export and Reporting
- Users can export results in CSV or XML format and download individual journal profiles as PDFs. However, exporting comparison results is currently not available.
User Support and Training
- JCR offers several training resources, including tips, guides, walkthroughs, recorded webinars, and comprehensive user guides to help users maximize the utility of the tool.
Integration with Web of Science
- JCR is integrated with the Web of Science Core Collection, ensuring that only journals meeting Web of Science’s impact and quality standards are included. This integration enhances the reliability and credibility of the citation data provided.
In summary, Journal Citation Reports is an indispensable resource for researchers, publishers, and academic institutions to evaluate, compare, and make informed decisions about scholarly journals based on robust and transparent citation data.