This document discusses factors to consider when publishing a paper, including journal metrics. It describes several journal metrics like the Journal Impact Factor, CiteScore, SJR, and SNIP. It explains how these metrics were developed and what they measure. The document also discusses how to find journal metrics through databases like Journal Citation Reports, Scopus, and Web of Science. Finally, it mentions other publishing considerations like DHET-accredited journals and predatory journals.

1. Where to Publish
UCT Bibliometrics Working Group
15 June 2017

2. Where to Publish
• What are the factors you would look at when
considering publishing a paper?
– Discipline
– Scope
– Author guidelines
– Supervisor
– Journal metrics
2

3. Journal Metrics

4. Journal metrics are quantitative methods used to
determine citation patterns of a journal to provide
insight into the journal’s performance within a
particular subject field.
What are journal metrics?
(University of Iowa Libraries, 2017)

5. Journal metrics can be used to:
• track citation patterns within journals
• complement accreditation/evaluation applications,
e.g. NRF
• select highly-cited journals for manuscript
submission
• assist in determining an author's impact
What are journal metrics used for?
(University of Iowa Libraries, 2017)

6. • 1955 – Eugene Garfield developed various metrics
including ways to determine the impact of a
particular journal in a given field of research
• 1976 - Garfield published the first Journal Citation
Reports
• Journal Impact Factor (InCites) was the first metric
created for academic journals
• More database vendors gathered statistics & other
metrics were created, e.g. SJR and SNIP (Scopus)
How were journal metrics developed?
(Johns Hopkins University. Sheridan Libraries [JHU], 2017)

7. What is the Journal Impact Factor (JIF)
• Developed by Institute for Scientific Information
• These are metrics that have meaning for the
journal rather than the author
• Purports to speak of the journal’s prestige in
research and impact
• Calculated using the number of citations divided
by number of articles produced by the journal

8. How to find journal metrics?
Metric Definition Data source
Journal Impact Factor The number of citations in the
current year to articles in the
previous two (2) years, divided
by the total number of citable
articles from the previous two
years.
Access via UCT Libraries web
site @: www.lib.uct.ac.za >
Databases A – Z > Journal
Citations Reports Incites
(Journal Citation Reports via
Incites, Thomson Reuters)
CiteScore The number of citations
made in the current year to
articles in the previous
three (3) years of the
journal, divided by the
total number of articles in
the previous three years of
the journal.
Access via UCT Libraries web
site @: www.lib.uct.ac.za >
Databases A – Z > Scopus >
Source
(CiteScore via Scopus, Elsevier)
(Evans, 2015; JHU, 2017)

9. How to find journal metrics?
Metric Definition Data source
SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) Average number of weighted
citations received in that year
by articles published in the
journal in the preceding three
(3) years. The average is
weighted so that citations
from more prestigious
journals count for more.
Access via UCT Libraries web
site @: www.lib.uct.ac.za >
Databases A – Z > Scopus >
Source
(SJR via Scopus, Elsevier)
SNIP (Source Normalized
Impact per Paper)
Average number of normalized
citations received in that year
by articles published in the
journal in the preceding three
(3) years. Citations are
normalized to account for
different citation rates in
different disciplines.
Access via UCT Libraries web
site @: www.lib.uct.ac.za >
Databases A – Z > Scopus >
Source
(SJR via Scopus, Elsevier)
(Evans, 2015)

10. • Different metrics/measures attempt to answer
different questions
• Each will emphasize or highlight certain aspects
of a particular ‘discipline’
• Metrics only provide part of the story about a
journal's use and its reputation… (JHU, 2017)
Which metrics should be used?

11. InCites - Journal Impact
Factor

12. Library web page:
“Search & Find”
Choose “Databases (A-Z)”
Library web page:
http://www.lib.uct.ac.za

14. Scopus - CiteScore, SJR &
SNIP

15. Scopus:
From within the
Scopus database,
choose “Source” to
determine the SJR,
SNP & CiteScore
metrics of a
particular journal.

16. Scopus:
Hover over a
particular metric to
learn more about
its scope &
purpose.

17. Scopus:
Search for a
particular source,
e.g. Energy and
Environmental
Science

18. Scopus:
Access CiteScore’s
methodology to
determine the
scope of the
particular metric.

19. DHET Accredited Journals

20. Why DHET accredited journals?
• The DHET allocates government subsidy to
universities each year
• A research article published in an approved
journal will be subsidized as a single unit if all
the authors are affiliated to the institution
(University of Cape Town, 2017)

21. Which journals are DHET accredited?
DHET-accredited journals:
• Web of Science's three sub-indices
o Arts and Humanities Citation Index
o Science Citation Index Expanded
o Social Sciences Citation Index
o List of approved South African journals as maintained by DHET
(pdf)
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) (click on full
title list)
• Scopus
• SciELO SA, and
• Norwegian list

22. Where can one access the DHET list?
• UCT Research Support Hub @ Publication
Count
• Accredited journal list @ UCT Libraries Quick
links

23. DHET accredited
journals 2017:
Access the 2017
list. Click on the
various
spreadsheets to
access a different
list, e.g. ISI 2017.

24. NRF Statement on Predatory Journals
& Deceptive Publishers
• The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa’s peer review and adjudication system has
identified a number of instances where applications for research grants, scholarships and NRF rating
include publications in predatory journals or cite invitations by deceptive publishers to serve on editorial
boards of journals.
• This practice is neither supported nor encouraged by the NRF as it challenges the integrity of the NRF’s
scientific peer review process. The use of predatory journals and deceptive publishers compromises the
creation and dissemination of rigorous scientific and scholarly work within the Digital and Open Access
movement.
• In order to protect the integrity of the NRF’s processes and reputation from these unethical and
unscholarly practices, the NRF reserves the right to not consider applications where this practice is
evident.
• The NRF encourages its stakeholder community, including the NRF’s Business Units and its National
Research Facilities (NFs), to:
o Ensure that its researchers and students adhere to the principles of research integrity and are aware
of predatory journals and deceptive publishers; and
o Avoid publishing in journals that do not have a rigorous peer review system or scholarly publishing
practices. (National Research Foundation, 2017)

25. Who to contact for information on ‘predatory
journals’?
OpenUCT (openuct@uct.ac.za)
Contact person Mrs. Jill Claassen
Email: jill.claassen@uct.ac.za

26. References:
Evans. K. 2015. Journal rankings and journal metrics. Available:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/library/services/researchanalytics/journalrankings.pdf [2017,
April 19].
Johns Hopkins University. Sheridan Libraries. 2017. Scholarly metrics. Available:
http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202558&p=1334626 [2017, April 19].
National Research Foundation. 2017. NRF statement on predatory journals & deceptive
publishers Available: http://www.nrf.ac.za/media-room/news/nrf-statement-predatory-
journals-deceptive-publishers [2017, April 19].
University of Cape Town. 2017. Publication count.
Available: http://www.researchsupport.uct.ac.za/publications-29 [2017, April 19].
University of Iowa Libraries. 2017. Scholarly impact: journal metrics.
Available: http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/scholarlyimpact/journalmetrics [2017, April 19].

27. Thank you!