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January 17, 2006 Volume 30, Issue 18 |
DataBasics
By Deborah Lee
MSU Libraries
Journal Citation Reports on the Web
The JCR on the Web is here. The Journal Citation Reports is produced by Thomson/ISI, the same company responsible for core databases such as the Web of Science. The JCR is a unique research resource, providing statistical information about the impact of a journal based on the articles’ cited references. It offers a systematic, objective way to evaluate the world’s leading journals and the information is available at the journal and category level.
Who would be interested in the JCR Web? Authors can turn to the statistical data presented to identify an appropriate journal in which to publish, examine the status of journals within which they have published, and examine the relationship (in terms of citing and cited journals) between journals in their field. Scholars studying bibliometrics and citation patterns also will find the JCR useful. Statistical data available in the JCR includes information concerning the most frequently cited journals in a field, the “hottest” journals in a field (via an immediacy index), the highest impact journals in a field, and subject category data that permits the comparison of journal impact factors and cited half life statistics across titles in a field.
The JCR on the Web comes in two editions: Science and Social Science. Web access covers 2000 to the present, although because of lag time for inclusion in the database, the most recent data is for 2004. The 2005 data will be available next summer. The new Web edition also provides additional graphical analysis of statistical data not previously found in the CD-ROM editions. Access to the JCR Web edition is available via the Mississippi State Libraries’ indexes and databases Web page.
For additional instruction concerning use of the JCR, telephone the Reference Department at 325-7667.