Publishing Resources

Citation data may be used or reported in several ways, including but not limited to:

•    A simple count of the number of times an author's work is cited (using multiple databases). This is a strong measure of that work's impact.

•    A representative list of source documents in which an author's work is cited (using multiple databases/sources)

•    A measure of the impact of the publications (“impact factor”) in which an author's work appears. Sources of this information includes impact measurement tools such as the Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Reuters,  SJR (Scientific Journal Ranking) from SciMago which uses data from the Scopus database, or from the journal itself. The publication impact helps in ascertaining the reputation of the publication. The number of cited articles in a particular journal may be used to demonstrate the relative importance of that journal within a discipline or specialty area.

Making a valid claim for the impact or importance of your research using citation data requires that you:

 •    Understand the limitations of cited-reference databases (completeness, coverage, citers' and indexers' precision and accuracy, and reasons for omissions)

•    Experiment with search strategies to produce the most valid and complete report for your name and all possible name variants (including potential errors)

•    Compare results from different databases and compile the results into a coherent portrayal of your body of research work

•    Analyze how your impact has been appraised by others in the literature. Retrieve and review the citing articles or in-text mentions of your work, and make a case based on the patterns that emerge.

In presenting citation data:

Author Impact: Phrase the claim for impact of your work or works as evidenced through citation relationships.

Sample statement:"I have been cited at least [x] times in [x] unique [journals, conference proceedings or other outlets appropriate to the field of study]."  Then include a list of all works/items citing you. It may be advisable to omit self citations.      

      Journal/Publication Impact: If using SciMago's Scientific Journal Ranking, phrase the claim for the impact of your publishing outlets.

Sample statement: "For [ Year of Analysis ], the journal [ Title ] has a SJR of [ x.xxx ]. The table shows the ranking of this journal in [Identify the particular subject category]. This measure places this journal in the [ Q1,2,3,4 ] quartile in comparison with others in the same subject category. These results are displayed below:

      Journal/Publication Impact: If using Journal Citation Reports Impact Factor, phrase the claim for the impact of your publishing outlets.

Sample statement: "For [ Year of Analysis ], the journal [ Title ] has an Impact Factor of [ x.xxx ]. Based on Impact Factor, this journal is ranked [ # ] out of [ # ] journals indexed by the Science Citation Index in the [ subject category ]. The table shows the ranking of this journal in [ Identify the particular subject category(ies) ]. This measure places this journal in the [ Q1,2,3,4 ] quartile in comparison with others in the same subject category. These results are displayed below: