Selecting the right journal for a research article can often be a challenge. Journal's rank, quartile, indexing status and Impact Factor are a few of the factors that are considered in the mind of the researcher prior to submission of the manuscript. But, with such a variety of sites presenting different numbers and statistics, it's not easy to know which statistics are accurate.

This is where Journal Citation Reports (JCR) are important.

This guide will take you through the steps if you are looking to check the journal impact factor JCR, find a journal's JCR quartile, or understand its position in a journal's subject category.

You will also understand how to check if a journal is official or fake, how to check the journal with its ISSN and why the journal might have a different JCR than SCImago.

What Is Journal Citation Reports (JCR)?

Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is a journal evaluation tool from Clarivate, which gives information regarding the scholarly journals and their citation performance.

The following are some typical things researchers do to verify using JCR:

• Journal Impact Factor (JIF)
• 5-Year Impact Factor
• Journal Citation Indicator (JCI)
• Journal rankings
• Subject categories
• Quartile positions
• Citation-related information
• Other journal-level metrics

The official journal citation reports impact factor is in reference to the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) provided by Clarivate's JCR platform.

JCR is simple enough to explain that if a journal is deemed to be a good performer, researchers can understand why. It can be particularly helpful when comparing journals of similar subject.

It should be noted that the JCR list is not an online general list of journals. The official data from JCR is from Clarivate and researchers must use caution with third-party websites that offer an "Impact Factor."

What Is a Journal Impact Factor?

Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is a measure of the citation level for a particular journal. It is generally applied to determine the rate at which recently published articles in a journal are cited.

For instance, citations received for articles and reviews published in a given year are typically averaged over the last two years.

The basic concept is to be captured as:

Journal Impact Factor = Citations received in the current year to eligible items published in the previous two years ÷ Number of eligible items published during those two years

But caution needs to be taken when using the Impact Factor.

Keep in mind that a high Impact Factor is not a guarantee of:

• Every article in the journal is high quality
• Your research will definitely be accepted
• Your paper will receive many citations
• The journal is the best choice for your research

The Impact Factor does not reflect the quality of any particular research paper, but rather is a gauge of the journal's overall success.

This is the reason it is important for researchers to understand the scope of the journal they are intending to submit to, the peer review process, subject category, quartile, editorial standards, indexing, policies of publication, and relevance before submission.

How to Check the JCR of a Journal

If you want to check the JCR of journals, the best approach is to use the official JCR platform and search for the exact journal record.

Here is a simple procedure you can follow:

Step 1: Access Journal Citation Reports

Begin with Clarivate's official Journal Citation Reports (JCR) platform.

It is usually offered via universities, research institutions and academic libraries. You may be required to log-in with your institutional credentials depending on your institution.

If your university has access to Web of Science resources, consult with your library to see if JCR is available in your library's databases.

The best place to look for an official Journal Impact Factor is for formal academic use, like promotion, research evaluations, grants or institutional reporting.

Step 2: Search for the Journal

After you have logged on to JCR, look up the journal you wish to look at.

Searching can be performed with:

• Journal name
• ISSN
• eISSN

It is sometimes best to search by the ISSN since the titles of journals may be similar.

For instance, the name of two journals could be near identical, but different publishers. By comparing the ISSN, you can ensure that you have the right journal record.

Step 3: Verify the Correct Journal Record

Check the journal record before checking the Impact Factor to ensure that the journal you are looking for is the same one that you have in your record.

Check:

• Full journal title
• ISSN
• eISSN
• Publisher
• Subject area

This is a crucial step which many researchers overlook.

Searching only by journal title could lead to a mis-match with another journal of the same name or an alternate serial issue of the same journal.

A simple rule is:

Never verify a journal's Impact Factor using the journal name alone. Check the ISSN whenever possible.

Step 4: Find the Journal Impact Factor

Once you have opened the right journal profile, you will find the Journal Impact Factor (JIF).

This is the official Impact Factor (IF) of that journal in the JCR database.

Other information might also be available depending on the journal record and available JCR data, including:

• 5-Year Impact Factor
• Journal Citation Indicator (JCI)
• Category rank
• Quartile
• Total citations
• Other journal-level metrics

When you are looking for a journal impact factor JCR or journal JIF, the number that most people refer to is the JIF.

Be sure to include the year that is related to the metric.

Don't just copy the Impact Factor, e.g. "Impact Factor: 5.2". However, note it with the corresponding year and source.

For example:

Journal Impact Factor: 5.2 | 2025 JIF | 2026 JCR Release

This makes it much easier to be able to check later on.

How to Check a Journal's JCR Quartile

Finding the Impact Factor is only one part of evaluating a journal.

You should also check its JCR quartile.

A quartile shows the relative position of a journal within a specific subject category. The four commonly used groups are:

For example, if a journal is ranked Q1 in a particular JCR category, it is positioned within the top quarter of journals in that category based on the relevant ranking methodology.

However, there is an important point here.

A journal can have different quartiles in different categories.

A multidisciplinary journal may be included in more than one subject category. Its ranking and quartile may therefore vary between categories.

For example:

• Category A: Q1
• Category B: Q2

So, simply saying "This is a Q1 journal" may not provide the complete picture.

A better way is to mention:

JCR Quartile: Q1 | Subject Category: [Category Name] | JCR Release: 2026

This provides the context needed to understand the journal JCR ranking correctly.

JCR Quartile vs SCImago Quartile: Are They the Same?

No. This is one of the most common mistakes researchers make.

Both JCR and SCImago may use Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 classifications, but they are based on different databases and metrics.

A journal may therefore be:

• Q1 in JCR
• Q2 in SCImago

This does not necessarily mean that one database is wrong. The two systems use different data sources, metrics, categories, and ranking methodologies.

Therefore, when someone says a journal is "Q1," always ask:

Q1 according to which database?

Is it:

• JCR Q1?
• Scopus Q1?
• SCImago Q1?

This distinction is essential when checking jcr journal ranking, journal citation reports ranking, or comparing a journal with other publications.

SCImago can be a useful free resource for checking SJR and quartile information, but its SJR should not be presented as the official JCR Impact Factor.

JCR Ranking vs Journal Impact Factor: What's the Difference?

The term "Impact Factor" and "ranking" are used interchangeably sometimes, but they are not synonymous.

The Journal Impact Factor is a citation indicator.

The JCR ranking indicates the position of the journal within its subject area using the appropriate JCR data.

The Quartile is another method of understanding relative position.

In other words:

• Impact Factor → Citation metric
• Category Rank → Position among journals
• Quartile → Relative group within the category

This is why it's important not to take a journal's Impact Factor at face value.

A journal that has a high JIF can rank very high in one research area, but very low in another area where citations occur naturally.

There are also differences among disciplines in how to cite, or document, sources. So it is best to compare journals that are in the same subject area as much as possible.

What Other Metrics Should You Check in JCR?

Though the Impact Factor is popular, it is not the only information to look at.

Researchers can also review the JCR journal profile for other metrics.

5-Year Impact Factor

This provides increased citations for longer and is also helpful for research areas that are slower to be cited.

Journal Citation Indicator (JCI)

JCI offers a field-normalized view of citation impact and can be used to make comparisons between the performance of different journals in various subject fields.

Category Rank

This will give you an idea of the position of the journal in relation to other journals in the same subject area.

Quartile

The quartile provides a simplified version of how a journal is positioned in the journal ranking, e.g. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.

Citation Information

Data pertaining to citations can give further context to the visibility and influence of the journal.

It's best to consider these metrics in combination and not just one by one.

How to Verify a Journal's Impact Factor?

Assume that a journal site states:

"Impact Factor: 8.5"

Would you blindly believe it at first?

Not necessarily.

The best way to do this is to check the claim.

Follow this verification procedure:

1. Find the journal's exact title.
2. Check the ISSN or eISSN.
3. Search the journal in JCR.
4. Confirm the Journal Impact Factor.
5. Check the JCR release year.
6. Check the metric year.
7. Check the subject category.
8. Check the journal's quartile and ranking.
9. Compare the information with the publisher's official journal page.
10. Record the source and date you checked.

This creates a simple evidence trail.

Journal Verification Checklist

This approach is much more reliable than copying an Impact Factor from a random journal citation reports list of journals found through a Google search.

Be Careful With Fake Impact Factors

Unofficial and misleading Impact Factor claims are one of the major issues in academic publishing.

Some metrics are published on the names that sound official, but they might not be recognized as Clarivate Journal Impact Factor in some websites and journals.

For example, you may come across terms such as:

• Global Impact Factor
• Universal Impact Factor
• SJIF
• Other unofficial "Impact Factor" systems

These should not be considered as a substitute for the official JCR Impact Factor.

Look for the Impact Factor if it is claimed by the journal, check in JCR.

The web page of a journal may be a good source but is not the only source to use when writing formally for academic reporting.

The key difference is simple: an official Journal Citation Reports JCR Impact Factor should be verified through the appropriate Clarivate JCR record rather than relying only on a metric displayed on a journal's website.

What If a Journal Does Not Have an Impact Factor?

Not all journals have an official JCR Impact Factor.

Doing so does not necessarily imply that the journal is of low reputation or predatory.

For a journal, it is not possible to have a JIF if:

• It is a relatively new journal
• It is not covered by the relevant Web of Science collection
• It does not yet have enough data for a JIF calculation
• It may have been removed or suppressed from a ranking system
• It may be indexed in another database but not in JCR

If the journal is not listed on the JIF, check on other legitimate indicators such as:

• Scopus indexing
• CiteScore
• SCImago SJR
• JCI, where available
• DOAJ inclusion for open-access journals
• PubMed or MEDLINE coverage for relevant biomedical journals

The fact that a journal may have no Impact Factor does NOT mean the journal is bad.

Other important factors to consider include the journal's age, the quality and indexing of the journal, the process of peer-review, the reputation of the publisher, and the scope of the research.

JCR vs Scopus vs SCImago: Which Should You Use?

Researchers often use these platforms for different purposes.

The important thing is not to mix these metrics.

• JIF is not CiteScore.
• JIF is not SJR.
• JCR quartile is not automatically the same as SCImago quartile.

Each metric has its own methodology and purpose.

If you need the official journal citation reports JCR impact factor, use JCR. If you want a free way to compare journals using Scopus-based data, SCImago can be useful.

How to Use JCR Data When Choosing a Journal?

While there is a value in checking the Impact Factor of a journal, it should not be the only consideration in selecting a journal.

When preparing your research, keep in mind:

Journal Scope

Is research published in this journal about your topic?

Subject Category

Does the journal have a good rank in the subject area that's relevant to your research?

JCR Quartile

Where is it on the spectrum of that category?

Impact Factor

When compared to other journals in the same field, how does its JIF compare?

Peer-Review Process

Is there a clear and explicit explanation in the journal of the review process for manuscripts?

Indexing

Does your institution or funding body require the journal to be indexed in the databases you are using?

Publication Charges

Ask the journal if they have an APC or other publication fee.

Publication Timeline

If speed is critical to your research, review and publish processes of the journal.

Editorial Standards

Read and review the editorial board, corrections policy, retraction policy.

Not every journal is the best choice based on the Impact Factor!

If you have a manuscript with a slightly lower JIF but excellent scope alignment, it may be a much better idea for you to submit it to that journal.

Common Mistakes When Checking JCR

Mistake 1: Looking Only at the Journal's Website

The Impact Factor might be displayed on a publisher's website, but when accuracy is important, always check the information from the right source.

Mistake 2: Confusing JIF With CiteScore

These are measurements of various systems.

Mistake 3: Confusing JCR Quartile With SCImago Quartile

When reporting a quartile, always give the database and category.

Mistake 4: Ignoring the Subject Category

Different rankings can be achieved by a journal in various categories.

Mistake 5: Using an Outdated Impact Factor

Always consider the JCR release year and metric year.

Mistake 6: Searching Only by Journal Name

To verify that you've located the correct journal record, use the ISSN or eISSN.

Mistake 7: Assuming a High JIF Means Better Journal Fit

A large number of citations is not indicative of a journal's appropriateness for your research.

JCR Impact Factor & Quartile Verification Checklist

If you intend to use the JCR on a journal in your research profile, CV, grant application, or manuscript submission, please review the following:

• Exact journal title verified
• ISSN or eISSN verified
• Journal found in the appropriate JCR record
• Official Journal Impact Factor checked
• JCR release year recorded
• Metric year recorded
• Subject category checked
• JCR quartile checked
• Category rank reviewed
• JIF not confused with CiteScore or SJR
• Publisher information cross-checked
• Unofficial Impact Factor claims avoided

This little checklist will help you avoid getting journal information that is old or wrong.