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Journal Metrics

An Introduction to Journal Metrics

Speed, usage, and impact make-up the suite of Springer journal metrics. Browse the sections below to learn what the calculated metrics can tell you about the performance of your journal article and journal.

Speed

Days from submission to first decision

The number of days from submission of a manuscript to first decision.

Days from acceptance to online first publication

The number of days from acceptance to online first publication.

Usage

Downloads

Springer measures the usage on the SpringerLink platform according to the COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources) standards.

Usage Factor

The Springer Journal Usage Factor is calculated as suggested by the COUNTER Code of Practice for Usage Factors. It is the median value of the number of downloads in 2017/2018 for all articles published online in that particular journal during the same time period. The Usage Factor calculation is based on COUNTER-compliant usage data on the SpringerLink platform.(Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources) standards.

Mentions and articles discussed via social media platforms

Additional research-impact indices, known as alternative metrics, are offering new evaluation alternatives. One of those is a researchers’ reputation made via their footprint on
the social web. The social media statistics are provided by Altmetric. They monitor article mentions on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Reddit, Blogs, News articles, Policy documents
and Faculty of 1000 reviews.

Impact

Impact Factor  

Journal Impact Factors are published each summer by Clarivate Anayltics. Impact Factors and ranking data are presented for the preceding calendar year. The Impact Factor is the average number of citations counted in the Impact Factor year Y for articles published in the previous two years.

SJR 

SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) is a measure of scientific influence of scholarly journals that accounts for both the number of citations received by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from.

SNIP

Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) measures contextual citation impact by weighting citations based on the total number of citations in a subject field. The impact of a
single citation is given higher value in subject areas where citations are less likely, and vice versa.

h5 Index

Google’s h5 Index is a metric based on the articles published by a journal over the previous 5 calendar years with a minimum of 100 articles in this period. If a journal publishes 100 articles sooner, an h5 Index can be calculated earlier. h is the largest number of articles that have each been cited h times. The h5 Index therefore cannot be dominated by one or several highly cited articles.