Impact Factors are used to measure the importance of a journal by calculating the number of times selected articles are cited within the last few years.The higher the impact factor, the more highly ranked the journal. It is one tool you can use to compare journals in a subject category.
During 2017, the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) database trackedall impact factors for 12,298journals.The table below shows the number and percentage of journals that were assignedimpact factors ranging from 0 to 10+.Of12,298journals, only 239titles, or 1.9% of the journals tracked by JCR, have a 2017impact factor of 10 or higher.The top 5% of journals have impact factors approximately equal to or greater than 6(610journals or 4.9% of the journals tracked by JCR).Approximately two-thirds of the journals tracked by JCR have a 2017impact factor equal to or greater than 1.
Impact Factor | Number of Journals | Ranking (Top % of Journals) |
10+ | 239 | 1.9% |
9+ | 290 | 2.4% |
8+ | 356 | 2.9% |
7+ | 447 | 3.6% |
6+ | 610 | 4.9% |
5+ | 871 | 7.1% |
4+ | 1,399 | 11.4% |
3+ | 2,575 | 21% |
2+ | 4,840 | 39.4% |
1+ | 8,757 | 71.2% |
0+ | 12,298 | 100% |
Impact Factors are useful, but they should not be the only consideration when judging quality.Not all journals are tracked in the JCR database and, as a result, do not have impact factors.New journals must wait until they have a record of citations before even being considered for inclusion.The scientific worth of an individual article has nothing to do with the impact factor of a journal.
