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WoS Indexing
WoS Indexing
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) are citation databases within the Web of Science Core Collection that categorize journals according to discipline and evaluation status.
SCIE indexes established, high-quality journals in science, technology, engineering, and medical fields, while SSCI covers leading journals in social sciences such as education, business, psychology, and economics. AHCI focuses on reputable journals in arts, humanities, culture, literature, philosophy, and related disciplines.
ESCI serves as an entry-level index for emerging and developing journals that have passed initial quality and editorial evaluations but have not yet met all the impact and citation criteria required for inclusion in SCIE, SSCI, or AHCI.
For researchers, journals indexed in SCIE, SSCI, and AHCI are generally regarded as the most established and prestigious within the Web of Science ecosystem, whereas ESCI journals can still be credible publication venues but are often viewed as being in a developmental stage toward achieving higher indexing status.
Scopus Indexing
Scopus Indexing
Scopus uses a single database that covers journals across all disciplines and evaluates them through subject classifications, citation metrics, and quality assessments.
Journals indexed in Scopus are assigned to one or more subject areas, such as Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, and Multidisciplinary fields, and are ranked within their categories using metrics such as SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) and CiteScore.
Based on these rankings, journals are categorized into quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4), with Q1 representing the top 25% of journals in a subject area. In addition, Scopus continuously monitors journal quality through the Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB), and journals that fail to maintain publishing, editorial, or ethical standards may be discontinued from coverage. Therefore, when evaluating a Scopus journal, researchers typically consider its indexing status, quartile ranking, CiteScore, SJR, publisher reputation, and whether it remains actively indexed in Scopus.
MyCite Indexing
MyCite Indexing
MyCite is a national citation indexing system managed by the Malaysian Citation Centre that focuses on scholarly journals published in Malaysia. It indexes journals across various disciplines and evaluates them based on criteria such as editorial quality, peer-review practices, publication consistency, and adherence to publishing standards. Unlike Scopus, MyCite does not classify journals into quartiles (Q1–Q4); instead, it provides citation data and bibliometric indicators to measure the visibility and impact of Malaysian research publications. Therefore, when evaluating a MyCite-indexed journal, researchers typically consider its indexing status, citation performance, editorial quality, publisher reputation, and contribution to national and regional research development.
Open Access (OA) vs. Non-OA
Open Access (OA) vs. Non-OA
Open-access journals make articles freely available to anyone immediately after publication, which generally increases visibility, accessibility, and potential citation impact; however, many open-access journals finance this model through Article Processing Charges (APCs), which are paid by the authors, their institutions, or research funders.
In contrast, traditional non-open-access (subscription-based) journals usually do not charge APCs for standard publication, as their revenue comes primarily from library and individual subscriptions, but access to published articles is restricted to paying subscribers. Some journals operate under a hybrid model, allowing authors to choose between publishing without APCs behind a paywall or paying an APC to make their article openly accessible. Therefore, when selecting a journal, researchers must balance factors such as publication cost, funding availability, visibility, accessibility, and institutional requirements regarding open-access dissemination.
Many institutions and publishers (like Elsevier) have agreements which cover some or all of the cost of publishing open access. Other information provided at submission, for example country, funder, or society membership, can also reduce the price.
OA: High visibility, potentially more citations. Expensive.
Non-OA: Free, restricted behind paywalls.
Delists
Delists
Web of Science Master Journal List
Scimago Journal & Country Rank
Scopus Delisted List (check periodically)
Publishers like Scopus periodically re-evaluates indexed journals to ensure they continue to meet quality standards related to editorial practices, peer review, publication ethics, citation performance, and publishing regularity. If a journal's quality deteriorates, exhibits questionable publishing behavior, experiences abnormal citation patterns, or fails to maintain publishing standards, it may be discontinued (commonly called "delisted") from Scopus.
A major risk for researchers is that although articles published before the discontinuation generally remain indexed, future articles published in the same journal may no longer be indexed, potentially reducing the visibility, discoverability, and institutional recognition of those publications.
For this reason, researchers should verify a journal's current status, review its indexing history, monitor its metrics and publisher reputation, and avoid selecting journals solely based on their historical Scopus inclusion, especially when publication decisions affect promotion, graduation, grants, or research assessment exercises.
Explaining Quartiles
Explaining Quartiles
Academic journals are commonly classified into quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4) based on their ranking within a subject category, with Q1 representing the top 25% of journals and Q4 the bottom 25%.
Scopus journals quartiles are based on their ranking within a specific subject category using metrics such as SCImago Journal Rank (SJR).
In addition to Scopus quartiles, researchers should also consider whether a journal is indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, often referred to as an ISI-indexed journal, as many universities, funding bodies, and ranking systems place significant emphasis on publications indexed by both Scopus and Web of Science.
While Q1 and Q2 journals generally offer higher visibility, stronger academic reputation, and greater recognition for promotion and research assessment purposes, journal selection should also consider scope alignment, audience, review quality, publication timeline, indexing stability, open-access policies, and publication costs. Researchers are encouraged to verify both the current Scopus quartile and Web of Science indexing status before submission, as a well-matched journal with stable indexing and a suitable readership often provides greater long-term impact than selecting a journal based solely on quartile ranking.
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