RSC Publishing Blog

Quality is the focus at RSC Publishing. And the recently published 2010 Journal Citation Reports ® prove that our quality is better than ever.

Our average impact factor (IF) now stands at 5.5 . It’s an impressive figure, especially when compared with the average for a chemistry journal* of 2.54.

But if you’re thinking that there’s nothing special about this, as most chemistry publishers are celebrating an overall rise in their impact factors, think again. RSC Publishing figures have risen by 59% since 2003 – almost double the average rise.

And it’s not just one or two journals that produce impressive results: it’s our entire collection that delivers.

Of the top 20 journals in the multidisciplinary chemistry category, six are from RSC Publishing. No other publisher has more.

83% of our journals listed in this year’s report have an IF above 3. No other publisher can boast such a large proportion of titles at this level, demonstrating just how well-cited our entire portfolio truly is.

So the figures speak for themselves: for guaranteed impact, choose RSC Publishing.

Individual journal highlights include:

• ChemSocRev – with a massive 32% increase, the IF now stands at a whopping 26.58!
• Impressive first Impact Factors for Nanoscale (7.00), Integrative Biology (4.44) and Metallomics (3.59) confirm our success with launching high-impact new titles.
• Chemical Communications – now at 5.79, our flagship communications journal has risen by 45% since 2004
• Energy & Environmental Science – rises to 9.45 and maintains its position as number 1 in the Environmental Science category, and number 2 in the Energy & Fuels category. Also in the top ten for multidisciplinary chemistry journals.
• Both Journal of Materials Chemistry (5.1) and Analyst (3.91) recorded highest-ever figures.

Dr James Milne, Acting Managing Director, Publishing, said: “Once again I am delighted to see the overall increases in impact factor for RSC journals, and their positions among the very best in their respective fields. For many years, RSC journals have outperformed the competition, and this is reflected in the considerable growth in submissions and published articles we have recently experienced.  Leading researchers clearly appreciate the high quality, rapid publication and unparalleled accessibility of RSC journals, and submit their best work for rapid publication in our international titles.’

“These results are also a great reflection on the dedication and commitment of the journals’ Editors, Editorial Boards and referees, whom we thank for their support,” he added.

The exceptional growth in submissions has resulted in the publication of almost 50% more high quality articles this year to date. This clearly indicates that more researchers than ever before are choosing RSC journals.

* The 7 Chemistry journal subject-categories as listed in Journal Citation Reports ®: Chemistry, Analytical; Chemistry; Applied; Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear; Chemistry, Medicinal; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; Chemistry, Organic; Chemistry, Physical.

Full journal listing:

The Impact Factor provides an indication of the average number of citations per paper. Produced annually, Impact Factors are calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year, by the number of citeable articles published in the preceding two years.

The 5-Year Impact Factor is the average number of times articles from a journal published in the past five years have been cited in the JCR year. For journals in subjects where citation activity continues to rise through several years, this metric allows more of their total citation activity to be included in a critical performance metric.

Data based on 2010 Journal Citation Reports ®, (Thomson Reuters, 2011).