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Ekstrom Library

Web of Science

Learn how to use Web of Science for cited reference searching and finding journal impact factor, author h-index, and funding sources

Finding and Comparing Journal Impact Factors in Web of Science

The impact factor of an academic journal helps you determine the importance of a journal within its field. This number is calculated by dividing the number of current year citations to the source items published in that journal during the previous two years.

Web of Science's Journal Citation Reports allows you to search for the impact factor of specific journals and compare impact factors across all journals in your field of study.

Search for a journal by its title or ISSN from the homepage. The journal profile will include its Journal Impact Factor, some its top cited articles, and more. 

Profile for Chemical Reviews in Journal Citation Reports with an Impact Factor of 72.087.

You can also compare the Journal Impact Factor of journals in a particular field. 

1. One the JCR homepage, click on the Categories button. 

Journal Citation Reports homepage with Categories button below the search bar highlighted.

2. Click on a category group and sub-category. You will have the option to choose the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCIE) or Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) list.

3. Then, you'll see a list of all journals in that category ranked by Journal Impact Factor. 

List of 195 journals in the category of Cell Biology ranked by Journal Impact Factor.