PIXABAY, JACKMAC34
The impact factor (IF) has arguably never been less popular. But now, the controversial journal metric has another potential rival. On December 8, Elsevier introduced its own system for ranking journals, called CiteScore. It is similar to the existing IF metric, but covers twice as many journals and is based on the Scopus database, which is more comprehensive than the IF’s data source, Web of Science.
CiteScore has a few quirks in its methodology that will affect prominent journal rankings. The Lancet, for instance, ranks fourth in the world under the IF, according to Nature, but ranks below 200th in the CiteScore system. That’s because, while both metrics calculate impact by dividing the number of citations by the total number of articles published, CiteScore includes ...
