A Complete Guide to Journal Indexing: Understanding SCImago, Scopus, and SCIE for Early-Career Researchers

Author: Izaz Ul Islam
Ph.D. Scholar
College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Engineering Research Center for Industrial Recirculation Water Treatment of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

These three terms (SCImago, Scopus, and SCIE) are often used in journal evaluation, but they refer to different indexing and ranking systems.

1. SCImago Journal Rank (SJR / SCImago)

Full name: SCImago Journal Rank indicator
Managed by: SCImago Lab (Spain), based on Scopus data.

🔹 What it is

• A ranking system that measures the scientific influence of journals.
• It uses data from Scopus (Elsevier’s database).
• The key metric is SJR value, which works similar to the Impact Factor but considers the quality (prestige) of citing journals, not just the number of citations.

🔹 SJR Quartiles

Journals are divided into Q1–Q4 quartiles:

🔹 Example

A journal with SJR = 1.5 and Q1 rank in Environmental Engineering means it’s among the top journals in that field.

Use: Common for ranking journals globally (especially in Scopus-based evaluations).

2. Scopus

Managed by: Elsevier (Netherlands)

🔹 What it is

• A bibliographic database — one of the largest in the world.
• It indexes peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and books from thousands of publishers.

🔹 What it provides

• Abstracts and citations for millions of articles.
• Journal-level metrics:
  • CiteScore
  • SJR (SCImago)
  • SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper)

🔹 Why it matters

• If a journal is “Scopus indexed,” it means it is recognized by a major global citation database, ensuring peer-reviewed quality, visibility, and citation tracking.
• Many universities and funding agencies require publications in Scopus-indexed journals.

 Use: For research visibility, author metrics (h-index), and journal selection.

3. Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)

Managed by: Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science Group)

🔹 What it is

• Part of the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection.
• Contains high-impact international journals in science, engineering, and technology.

🔹 Key feature

• SCIE journals have Impact Factors (IF) published annually in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR).
• It is more selective than Scopus — fewer journals are indexed.
• Being SCIE-indexed means the journal is recognized by Web of Science, and Impact Factor can be officially listed.

Use: For top-tier research recognition; required by many promotion, PhD, and grant systems.

Summary Table

In short:

• Scopus → Large citation database.
• SCImago (SJR) → Ranking system derived from Scopus data.
• SCIE → High-impact subset of Web of Science with official Impact Factor.

A clear, step-by-step guide to check whether a journal is indexed in SCImago (SJR), Scopus, or SCIE (Web of Science)  with official links

1. Check SCImago Journal Rank (SJR / Quartile)

Goal: To know a journal’s SJR score, quartile (Q1–Q4), and subject area.

🔹 Steps:

1. Go to 👉 https://www.scimagojr.com
2. Type your journal name in the search box (e.g., Journal of Hazardous Materials).
3. Open the result — you’ll see:
   • SJR Value (e.g., 2.4)
   • Quartile (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)
   • Publisher, ISSN
   • Subject Category (e.g., Environmental Engineering, Materials Chemistry)
4. You can also filter by country or subject area.

Example:
Journal of Hazardous Materials → Q1 in Environmental Chemistry (High impact).

Check Scopus Indexing

Goal: Confirm if a journal is officially indexed in Scopus (Elsevier database).

🔹 Steps:

1. Visit 👉 https://www.scopus.com/sources
2. Click “Sources” → you’ll see a search bar.
3. Type the journal name or ISSN.
4. The search result will show:
   • Journal name and Publisher
   • Coverage years (e.g., 2002–present)
   • CiteScore, SJR, SNIP
   • Subject area
5. If the journal appears in this list →  It is Scopus indexed.
   If not → ❌ It is not indexed or recently discontinued.

Tip: Always double-check the ISSN number — some fake journals use similar names.

Check Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE / Web of Science)

Goal: Confirm if a journal has an official Impact Factor (Clarivate’s JCR list).

🔹 Steps:

1. Visit 👉 https://mjl.clarivate.com/search-results (Master Journal List)
2. Enter the journal name or ISSN.
3. The results will show:
   • Database(s) covered (e.g., Science Citation Index Expanded, ESCI, SSCI)
   • Publisher, Country, and Coverage period
4. If “Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)” appears → It’s an Impact-Factor journal.
   If only “ESCI” appears → it’s emerging but doesn’t have an official Impact Factor yet.

 Example:
Chemical Engineering Journal → Indexed in SCIE, Impact Factor listed in JCR.

Quick Summary Table

Read More: The Art and Science of the Perfect Paper: A Master Guide to Writing and Structuring a Winning Manuscript

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