The meaning of a journal's quartile in Scopus and its significance for a scientist
Internet search platforms of the Scopus level are designed to form an information base for research and include a long list of publications. Each scientific journal is focused on an established audience, which is not homogeneous in the scientific community and has its own meaning. A scientist, a reader, and in the global network - a consumer of content, are interested in a specific area of knowledge and focus on resources that best meet expectations.
Scientific articles, related to different levels and research areas, are not only distributed by specialties and sources of articles (meaning scientific journal), but are also indexed by the indicator of mutual citation (determination of impact factor). A journal in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases falls into one (or more) of 4 groups.
The group, as a separate category, has a name - quartile. This is an important tool for ranking articles. Publications are divided, first of all, by quality. The goal is to help researchers and readers in finding material relevant to their interests, and to give authors an incentive for professional growth. How does the quartile work, and what is its essence?
What is a journal quartile?
Quartile is an accepted category that a scientific journal receives when ranking by the scientometric databases WoS and Scopus. The quartile is designated Q, and the database indicator is used for its gradation:
- in WoS this is the JCR (Journal Citation Reports) impact factor, which indexes 12.5 thousand journals;
- SJR (SCIMago Journal Rank) in Scopus, indexes 21 thousand journals.
All article platforms included in both databases are divided into 4 parts. Each scientific journal is in one of the quartiles – from Q1 to Q4. The first group includes the most respected and recognized publications in the scientific community, the last one – with the lowest level of competence and almost no authority. WoS and Scopus have identical meaning and are subject to the algorithm in absolutely the same way.
The level system is universal for any areas of scientific research and specialties. With the help of this tool, a scientist can objectively evaluate the quality of a scientific journal.
What is the significance of quartile for a scientist
Scopus quartile for a scientist is an indicator that a scientific journal has in databases. Its value affects the rating, the definition of the impact factor is a level category in the eyes of the author and reader. Thus, a scientist gets an effective tool for choosing a site for posting materials, and the user quickly finds the necessary content, and what is especially important - high-quality. The Scopus rating is responsible for the latter.
But there is a nuance: a scientific journal does not acquire the Q status for life. Publications migrate from one quartile to another from time to time, and this movement is associated with the results of citation recalculation and changes in other levels. Thus, in different years, a journal can change its rating, belong to different groups, or even disappear from the list of peer-reviewed journals. And it will not be possible to find it in Scopus.
How to determine a quartile: the Scopus algorithm
A scholar-author or reader can find out which quartile a journal is assigned in the Scopus system by following this link: https://www.scopus.com/sources.uri (directly the Scopus database resource). There you should find the name of the journal or by ISSN.
The page that opens will indicate the journal category, its significance in the specialized research environment, state and publishing affiliation, and other data. As well as links to the site, indexes, including the Hirsch index, and impact factor definition. Next, you need to select SiteScore.
Scopus provides a detailed categorical analysis of the journal in dynamics and its quartile. The analysis in Scopus is accompanied by examples of calculations and display of ratings. The citation assessment in Scopus is very detailed. As a result, a scientist or other user receives information about the quartile of the journal with full justification.
Scopus quartile calculation is done automatically. The percentage of citations by groups is distributed as follows:
Q1 – 75-100%
Q2 – 50-75%
Q3 – 25-50%
Q4 – 0-25%
A publication can be in different quartiles at the same time due to different citation assessments for several profiles. Therefore, one and the same scientist can place articles in a publication more than once, for example, as co-authors, and they will have different "weight" values.
The Scopus quartile is an established system recognized as effective at the international level. A scientist who is constantly engaged in publications must be aware of changes in the levels of publications. The system is actively used and, thanks to regular updates, remains relevant. Universities, scientific laboratories and research institutes make demands on employees in the form of publications in journals that have weight in scientometric databases. This increases the rating of the organization and the authority of the articles of employees working there.
Today, a scientist must be able to navigate the dense information flow that accompanies the field of scientific articles. To present research materials to the scientific community with a guaranteed high-quality result, the Academy of Articles provides services for the preparation and placement of Web of Science articles. Selecting a quality site, determining the impact factor, full-scale processing of materials, writing articles according to specified criteria, the required quartile, journal rating, other indicators - the range of services includes all the necessary information support and high results.
