Elsevier Announces Enhanced Journal Metrics SNIP and SJR Now Available in Scopus

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announces publication of enhanced journal metrics SNIP (Normalized Impact per Paper) and the SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) which are now available in Scopus, the world’s largest scholarly abstract and citation database. Modifications to SNIP, developed by Leiden University’s Centre for Science & Technology Studies (CWTS), include improved benchmarking capabilities across different subject areas by correcting for differences in citation practices between fields. The new SNIP calculation results in an average score for all journals in Scopus to approximately equal one, simplifying the comparison of journal scores. The SJR, developed by the SCImago Research Group, has been enhanced with a refined algorithm to recognize the value of citations from closely related journals which compensates for an ever increasing volume of journals, at the same time also simplifying comparison amongst subject fields by an average value equal to one. Publishing in high impact journals has direct effects on a researcher’s career; consequently journal evaluation is widely used by researchers to assess their publication options. It is therefore essential that the metrics used accurately reflect the prestige of a journal. Every metric has its own particular features, but in general, they all aim to provide rankings and insight into performance based on citation analysis. Journal metrics SNIP and SJR were originally developed in response to elaborate on and complement existing metrics, such as the Impact Factor. “At Elsevier we aim to provide comprehensive and objective metrics that reflect the ever-changing research landscape,” said Cameron Ross, Head of Product Management for Scopus at Elsevier. “We make these metrics available to the research community through Scopus in order to help them more accurately determine which journals they would like to submit their papers to.”