Journal metrics based on citations are developed by different publishers and organisations, and are based on data from either Web of Science (Clarivate) or Scopus (Elsevier)
The metrics are based on the ratio between the number of citations to a journal and the number of articles in the journal in a defined period. Some of the calculations try to take account of differences in citation practices within different fields (AIS, SNIP, SJR), while others can only be used to compare journals within a certain field (JIF, IPP).
In recent years, a movement has begun towards reducing the use of journal indicators as indicators of research impact (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)).
Journal Impact Factor is based on citations from Web of Science. You can find JIF via Journal Citation Reports.
"The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is a ration which divides a journal's received citations by a count of its published articles. It's not a mathematical average, but it does prove an approximation of the mean citation rate for a typical article.”
(https://clarivate.com/academia-government/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/dlm_uploads/2025/06/Journal-Impact-Factor-Quick-Reference-Guide-1.pdf#page=1.14&gsr=0)
Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) is based on citations from Scopus. You can find SNIP in Scopus and http://www.journalindicators.com/.
“SNIP: The source normalized impact per publication, calculated as the number of citations given in the present year to publications in the past three years divided by the total number of publications in the past three years…”
"…citations are normalized in order to correct for differences in citation practices between scientific fields. Essentially, the longer the reference list of a citing publication, the lower the value of a citation originating from that publication. A detailed explanation is offered in our scientific paper."
(http://www.journalindicators.com/methodology)
“…this is a reflection of the density of the network of citations around the journal using 5 years of cited content as cited by the Current Year. It considers both the number of citations and the source of those citations, so that highly cited sources will influence the network more than less cited sources. The Eigenfactor calculation does not include journal self-citations.”
"…this normalizes the Eigenfactor Score according to the cumulative size of the cited journal across the prior five years. The mean Article Influence Score for each article is 1.00. A score greater than 1.00 indicates that each article in the journal has above-average influence.."
(https://journalcitationreports.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/28351430970001-Journal-Profile)
Scimago Journal rank is based on citations from Scopus. You can find SJR in Scopus and at https://www.scimagojr.com/.
"SCImago Journal Rank measures weighted citations received by the serial. Citation weighting depends on subject field and prestige (SJR) of the citing serial."
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact the liaison librarian associated with your field, who will be happy to assist you with your questions.
Alternatively, you are always welcome to contact your local library.
You can find many different metrics for journal impact which, among other things, can be used to compare the different journals’ prestige and influence.
This page describes the most frequently used metrics, based on citation count. But you can also compare journals by means of lists that have been built up more qualitatively, such as Harzings Journal Quality List, which brings together 11 journal rankings within the subjects of economics, finance, accounting, management and marketing.
