The scientific quality of a journal need not only be evaluated through citation counts and their analysis. Other aspects of a journal also deserve attention, and can be just as useful to highlight areas of excellence, and those that might need further attention.

Journal Measures Report

A good example of the wide range of information available can be found in the Journal Measures Report. This report is compiled on a regular basis to keep you informed and to assist you in your editorial work; it can be requested from your publishing contact. The report covers the various steps of the peer review and publication process.

On the Editorial Process

The report starts with an overview of the editorial figures by listing the number of manuscripts submitted for review as well as the number on which a decision was reached. The numbers are shown per month and per handling editor. This section includes statistics on processing times: how long did it take for a submission to be reviewed, how long before revised versions were submitted, and how long before a final decision was reached?

The rejection rate is often a good indicator of journal quality. The most recent rejection rate, as well as the data for previous years, are shown in the report.

On Production

Accepted articles are tracked closely from the moment they arrive in one of our thirteen production locations. The data generated are included in the report, which gives numbers of articles by month and handling editor, with page counts and the progress of the journal’s issues.

Speed of publication is an important quality characteristic is the speed of publication and a separate section is therefore focussed on that subject.

On Readership

The number of times an article has been downloaded from ScienceDirect gives an excellent and rapid indication of its importance and relevance. The report lists the 20 most-downloaded papers. The annual total figure for the journal is also available and can be compared with historical data.

On Geographical Distribution

The country of origin of a journal’s authors and readers is also thoroughly covered in the Journal Measures report, in terms of both submitted and accepted manuscripts, and downloads per country. The countries making the largest contributions, as well as those with the biggest changes, are highlighted and may influence your editorial strategy.

Editor, Author and Reviewer Feedback Programmes

Our unique Research and Academic Relations Department regularly records the opinions of Editors, authors and reviewers on their experiences of working with a journal that we publish. We use this feedback as a valuable means of setting strategy to improve our journals and relationship with our editors, and we use appropriate measures as described above to indicate our success. Changes in satisfaction levels over time can indicate areas for improvement, and/or improvements in previously targeted areas.

You can request these reports from your publishing contact. If your journal is not participating and you would like to be included, please discuss this with your publishing contact.