Journal Citation Reports are an immensely useful tool and can help with identifying:
– journals with the greatest total cites and the highest impact in your field
– journals relevant to your research and those in which it would be desirable to publish
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Each edition of Journal Citations Report is published annually in the Autumn following the year of coverage – and the latest 2007 edition has recently become available.
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There are two different editions:Â the Science Edition covering more than 5,900 science journals, and the Social Sciences Edition, covering more than 1,700 social sciences journals.
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As usual the latest edition includes:
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- Journal Impact Factors: the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year. Helps evaluate a journal’s relative importance in a given field
- Total Cites: tells you which journals are most frequently cited. Journals are ranked by the number of times they are cited in a given year; gives an indication of assessment of journals by scholars who have responded to the items published
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There are plans to enhance Journal Citation Reports and during February new metrics will be added:
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- Five-Year Impact Factor
- ‘Rank in Category’ tables
- Box Plots
- Journal Self Citations
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To access the Journal Citation Reports, logon to the University Portal, and select Journal Citation Reports from the “A-Z list of online resources”, then from the Web of Knowledge gateway choose the “Select a Database” tab.Â
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Subject Librarian