Journal-level metrics offer a way to measure the overall impact and sometimes prestige of a journal. Some of the most common metrics are shown below.
It is important to note that any journal with a particular impact factor may contain articles that have varying levels of impact. In other words, it is possible to find articles that have been cited many times but are in low-impact journals, and vice versa.
Impact Factor--Officially the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), it measures how many times the average article in a journal has been cited in the past two years. You can find the Impact Factor in the database InCites Journal Citation Reports, sometimes known as JCR. To get started, go to JCR, and then search for the name of a journal. Or, choose one of the "browse" links inside JCR to see a list of journals or subject categories to peruse.
Acceptance Rate--Measures the percentage of article submissions accepted into journal. You can find this information in Cabell's Whitelist. To get started, go to Cabell's Whitelist and search for a journal.
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR)--measures how frequently a journal is being cited and also takes into account the prestige of the journals that cite it. Produced by Scimago Lab. To get started, go to the SCImago Journal Rank webpage and search for a journal.
