CHANGES IN THE JOURNAL CITATION REPORTS (JCR) DATABASE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EVALUATION OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

Since 2022, the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) database has included data on journals indexed in the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). From 2023 onwards, these journals have been ranked and assigned to quartiles. This development affects the evaluation of research performance, as these changes have not been accompanied by updates to the bibliographic criteria under the ARIS methodology or adjustments to habilitation regulations.

We would like to alert researchers that journals indexed in ESCI are, at least for now, not considered equivalent to journals indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) when it comes to meeting the quantitative criteria for academic appointments. Furthermore, publications in ESCI-indexed journals are classified as category 1B in the Evaluation of Bibliographic Indicators of Research Performance according to the ARIS Methodology, which results in a lower evaluation for authors.

We recommend paying close attention to the edition of the journal, as indicated in the first column of the JCR table. This is the only way to accurately determine in which index the journal is included and how it is assessed according to the currently valid criteria.

More information is available under Bibliografija raziskovalcev na UM.