At some point in their career, scientists or professors related to scientific research start thinking about the possibility of having publications in various foreign scientific journals. To make the right decision, it is essential to pay attention to the topic and the quartile of the journal.
What Is A Quartile: Its Purpose
A quartile is indicating the popularity and value of the journal in the world of scientific research. It shows that the journal belongs to a specific category. If a scientist wants his work to be published, it is easy to figure out which journal is more valued in terms of being quoted.
The ranking is automatic. For example, all the journals that have an impact factor Scimago JR in the Scopus database are divided based on citation data - from the more to less cited journals. Then all the journals are divided into 4 categories as follows:
Q1 - the category of the most prestigious and popular journals. The journals which occupy Q1 are the most cited journals within the last 2 years. The data published in these journals is the most valuable. Based on the data from such journals, scientists make their own research in different fields of study.
Q2 - the journals in this category are also high in ranks. The publications in these journals are highly popular.
Q3 and Q4 - these categories have the least popular journals. The journals that occupy Q4 are least cited. Such journals are less popular in terms of scientific value compared to Q1 or Q2.
It’s extremely difficult to publish research in the journals that occupy Q1 or Q2. The research must be of the highest quality and it should be useful in terms of scientific value.
How To Find The Quartile Of A Journal In Scopus?
The purpose of being published in an international journal such as Scopus is to share the results of the research with the scientific world. Isn't just a requirement of a University department. It's highly recommended to add the publication in a journal with the quartile Q1 - Q4. Finding a quartile is a simple task:
- Open the Scimago JR official website.
- Click on the Journal Rankings category. You can filter the journals by choosing the subject area, subject categories, region or country of the journal, etc. The journals are displayed from the most to least cited.
- Scroll the Scopus list until you find the needed journal. You will find the SJR and quartile of the journal beside its name, on the right side.
- If you want to find the quartile of the journal in Scopus without searching its name in the general list, you can use the search. You will see the search on the main page, just copy and paste the name into the search engine and press “Enter”. The system will show all similar results.
- Choose the journal you were looking for and click on its name. You will be redirected to a page with information about the journal, including its quartile, SJR, Subject Category, etc.
Note that only those journals that have been included in the Scopus database for at least 1 or 2 years have the SJR evaluation. If the journal isn’t yet added to the Scopus database, it won’t have the quartile or SJR.