Journal metrics
Explore quantitative and qualitative measures to help you decide where to publish
Quality, reach and influence are all important factors in choosing the best journal for your research.
A broad spectrum of metrics and measures, combined with a journal’s scope and ethos, offers a meaningful way to decide, and the following information is based on what you – our authors, readers and librarian colleagues – have told us is most important to you in making that decision.
On this page
All metrics by journal name
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Journal metrics explained
Our journals are advancing science and furthering knowledge, which ultimately benefits our global society.
We achieve this through the volume, reach and quality of our content, and building trust with the community we serve.
Volume
We publish thousands of articles every year so that we can give you the very best science has to offer. We elevate this impactful and inspiring research in our journal portfolio, which is always growing to meet the needs of our community. None of this is possible without our diverse author and reviewer network who contribute to our transparent publication process – something we know is vital for the future of publishing.
The volume of high-quality content we publish in our journals increases the potential for realising impact and helps ensure our journals are accessible to authors across the full breadth of the chemical sciences.
Article submissions
The number of submissions to a journal in the given calendar year.
Chemical Society Reviews and Natural Product Reports have a pre-submission approval process; submission numbers include approved synopses only.
Article publications
The number of editorials and peer-reviewed articles published in issues during the given year.
Reach
Anything is possible when we work as a community to drive scientific progress. The number of citations our articles receive, and the number of times each one is accessed, prove that we are making a difference together. Every article read, cited and shared is another step towards progress. And we will always support you – whether this is by launching new gold open access journals or working with institutions globally to provide more open access agreements.
We want to ensure that our journal content reaches the right people – so it is seen by those for whom it is most relevant and will make effective use of it. Citation-based measures give a good indication of reach.
2-year Impact Factor
The yearly average number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a specific journal.
The 2-year Impact Factor is calculated by dividing all citations to the journal in the given year to items published in the previous two years, divided by the total number of scholarly items (articles, reviews, and proceedings) published in the journal in the previous two years.
For example, the 2020 2-year Impact Factor refers to the number of citations received in 2020 to items published in 2018-2019, divided by the number of scholarly items published in 2018-2019
Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports
5-year Impact Factor
The yearly average number of citations of articles published in the last five years in a specific journal.
The 5-year Impact Factor is calculated by dividing all citations to the journal in the given year to items published in the previous five years, divided by the total number of scholarly items (articles, reviews, and proceedings) published in the journal in the previous five years.
For example, the 2020 5-year Impact Factor refers to the number of citations received in 2020 to items published in 2015-2019, divided by the number of scholarly items published in 2015-2019.
Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports
CiteScore™
The average number of citations a scholarly item published within the given or previous three years has received during the same time period, divided by the number of scholarly items published over the same time period.
For example, the 2020 CiteScore refers to the number of citations scholarly items published in 2017-2020 received in 2017-2020, divided by the number of scholarly items published in 2017-2020.
Source: Scopus
Best Impact Factor Category Quartile
Clarivate Journal Citation Reports categorise journals into scientific categories, once ranked by 2-year Impact Factor from high to low the journals are split into quartiles, with Q1 being the upper-most quartile. For journals included in more than one Science Citation Index Expanded™ (SCIE) category, the best quartile and category is listed.
Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports
Trust
It is our mission to act as a trustworthy and honest voice for the chemical science community. We achieve this by being open and transparent about our publishing activities. Whether you are the one reading or the one publishing with us, you can rely on the quality of our content and practices.
Did you know that we are also:
- the first major chemical society to sign up for DORA
- co-owners of ChemRxiv
- focused on minimising bias in our activities, as demonstrated in our Joint commitment for action on inclusion and diversity in publishing
- committed to increasing inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences
- signed up to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal compact.
Authors and readers can trust the content in our journals. We combine quality with fast publication, provide comprehensive open access options and we are clear and transparent about the range of peer review models available to authors.
Time to first decision (all decisions)
The median time from manuscript submission to the first decision including rejects without peer review. For submissions with a decision in the previous calendar year.
For Chemical Society Reviews and Natural Product Reports times to first decision refer to full manuscripts submitted following pre-approval as a synopsis.
Time to first decision (peer reviewed only)
The median time from submission to the first decision for submissions that underwent peer review only. For submissions with a decision in the previous calendar year.
Open access
Find out more about open access at the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Peer review model
Single-anonymised: reviewers are anonymous and author names and affiliations are known to reviewers.
Double-anonymised: both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are anonymous (opt in at submission).
Transparent: the editor’s decision letter, reviewers’ comments, and authors’ response for all versions of the manuscript are published alongside the article (opt in at any point prior to acceptance).
Related pages
Our journals
We publish over 50 world-leading journals that span the core chemical sciences and related fields.
Publish an article
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Making an impact
Having your article published is only the first step to sharing your research with the world.