Which of the following sources can be consulted to know the impact factor of journal publication?

A. EBSCO

B. Web of Science

C. Science Direct

D. SCOPUS

E. JSTOR

Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

The Correct answer is ​B and D only.

Key Points

• Web of Science: Provides Journal Citation Reports (JCR), which is the official source for Impact Factor (IF).
• SCOPUS: Uses CiteScore, an alternative metric similar to the Impact Factor, to measure journal influence.
• EBSCO: Indexes journals but does not provide impact factor.
• Science Direct: A journal database but does not calculate impact factors.
• JSTOR: Provides access to journal archives but does not track impact factors.

Additional Information

• EBSCO:
  • EBSCO stands as a prominent provider of comprehensive research databases, e-journals, magazines, ebooks, and discovery services catering to diverse institutions such as academic libraries, public libraries, corporations, schools, government, and medical organizations.
  • EBSCO's extensive offerings cover a variety of research fields, including business, humanities, social sciences, and science.
  • EBSCO Information Services is a well-known aggregator of academic content.
  • Some key databases within the EBSCO portfolio include:
    • Academic Search Ultimate
    • Business Source Ultimate
    • Applied Science & Technology Source Ultimate
    • Humanities Source Ultimate
    • Sociology Source Ultimate
• Web of Science:
  • The Web of Science (WoS), formerly known as Web of Knowledge, is a subscription-based platform that offers online access to a collection of databases containing reference and citation information derived from academic journals, conference proceedings, and other scholarly documents across various academic fields.
  • Originally developed by the Institute for Scientific Information until 1997, it is presently under the ownership of Clarivate.
  • Web of Science is a powerful research tool that facilitates the acquisition, analysis, and dissemination of database information in a timely manner. 
  • The Web of Science Core Collection comprises six online indexing databases, each focusing on specific academic disciplines:
    • Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
    • Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
    • Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)
    • Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
    • Book Citation Index (BCI)
    • Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI)
• ScienceDirect :
  • ScienceDirect is a web-based full-text database that provides access to a large bibliographic database of scientific and medical publications.
  • ScienceDirect database is produced by Elsevier on March 1997.
  • The journals produced in the Science Direct database are categorized into four main sections: 
    • Physical Sciences and Engineering, 
    • Life Sciences, 
    • Health Sciences, and 
    • Social Sciences and Humanities.
  • It provides free article abstracts and full text on a subscription basis.
• Scopus:
  • Scopus is an abstract and citation database developed by Elsevier and introduced in 2004.
  • It comprises a vast collection of academic content, including approximately 36,377 titles, which encompass 22,794 active titles and 13,583 inactive titles.
  • To ensure an unbiased and transparent content coverage policy, Scopus, owned by Elsevier, established an independent and international Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB) in 2009.
  • The primary goal was to prevent any potential conflicts of interest in the selection of journals for inclusion in the database.
  • The CSAB is responsible for assessing various titles for inclusion or exclusion in Scopus.
• JSTOR-
  • JSTOR stands for "Journal Storage" and is a digital library that was founded by William G. Bowen in 1994 in the USA in New York City as a digital library.
  • It contains digitized back issues of academic journals, books, and other primary sources as well as current issues of journals in the humanities and social sciences.
  • William G. Bowen, who served as the president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988, established JSTOR in 1994.
  • The idea for JSTOR originated as a response to the challenges faced by libraries, particularly research and university libraries, dealing with the growing number of academic journals.
  • It provides full-text searches of journals and provides open-access content free of charge.
  • JSTOR is licensed mainly to academic institutions, public libraries, research institutions, museums, and schools.