Answered By: Dave
Last Updated: Jul 15, 2022     Views: 1007

How to read the Impact Factor number of a journal.

The Impact Factor of 10.632 for the journal Academy of Management Review for 2018, indicates that, on average, each article published in this journal in the past two years (2016 and 2017) have been cited 10.632 times in 2018.

In theory, the higher the Impact Factor, the more highly ranked the journal. The top 5% of journals (about 610 titles) have Impact Factors equal to or greater than 6. About two-thirds of journals have a 2017 Impact Factor equal to or greater than 1.

The aim of a journal's Impact Factor is to measure the impact that a journal makes in its field, based on the number of citations to articles published in the journal in a given year. The Impact Factor of a journal is one of the most widely used methods of assessing a journal's worth and relevance to the academic community it serves.

The database Journal Citation Reports (JCR) tracks journal Impact Factors and rankings of journals in the social and life sciences, based on millions of citations. APU does not currently subscribe to JCR.

Another way to find out the Impact Factor of a journal is to visit the journal's website. Often, publisher's website of a journal will indicate the most recent Impact Factor. For example:


 

An alternative to a journal's Impact Factor.   

For an alternative to a journal's Impact Factor there is the free Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR). A SJR number is a measure of a journal's impact influence or prestige. The SJR number indicates the average number of weighted citations a journal received during a selected year per documents published in that journal during the previous three years.  

For example, the journal Science, has a SJR of 13.11 in 2019. This means on average, each article published in 2016, 2017 and 2018 was cited 13.11 times in 2019. 

For more information about Impact Factors as well as other Impact Factor Databases go to the University of Washington's Health Sciences Library LibGuide on Impact Factors.