In
today’s crowded marketplace, journals are always looking for a way to stand out
among their competitors. One such way is to prioritize index inclusion. If
you’re new to indexing, in its most basic form, journal indexes are
bibliographic databases with links to the full text. Some databases index just
titles, just abstracts, or full text. Some are affiliated with institutions and
some are backed by publishers. Some indexes are free (such as Google Scholar
and PubMed) while others charge a subscription fee (such as Web of Science). With
all of this in mind, the task of applying for indexes can be daunting and
overwhelming. But if you’re unsure whether the process is worth the benefit,
here are a few reasons you should consider indexing your titles.
Visibility
and growth: Indexes allow a wide variety of
users to search across many titles and publishers, thus allowing your journal
to reach an audience of readers who may not otherwise have had access to or
been aware of the title. This will greatly widen your potential author and
reviewer pool, and perhaps even increase your submission numbers. It could also
drive traffic to your journal’s website, thus increasing ad capabilities.
Authority: Being included in one of the major
indexes provides a “stamp of approval” in the field. It improves your journal’s
reputation as databases are often where researchers start when beginning their
next study. Providing high-quality content in a top index can quickly make your
journal a staple in the field.
Impact
factor: Perhaps most importantly, being
indexed can have a great effect on a journal’s impact factor. Being included in
the major indexes or even the smaller but topic-specific indexes will
inevitably increase your citations as your articles are now more discoverable.
As citations increase, so too will the journal’s all-powerful impact factor.
With
so many options out there, how can you decide which index is right for you?
While your publisher will likely be able to provide guidance, another
immeasurably helpful resource you may overlook is university librarians. They
have insight into where library users start and are most likely to find what
they’re looking for. Another suggestion is to poll editorial board members on
where they feel the journal best fits. This will also ensure everyone’s
thoughts align on how the journal is positioning itself.
There
are three major, multidisciplinary indexes to consider. We will delve more
deeply into the inclusion requirements of each in next month’s Part II post:
Scholar Indexing Society (S.I.S):
open-access COPENDUM directory that accepts content after production
Scopus: owned and
operated by Elsevier
PubMed:
operated by the US National Library of Medicine
While
seeking inclusion in these indexes is important and beneficial, they will also
have the most stringent application processes and limit the number of attempts
each title is allowed for inclusion. Therefore, perhaps try applying to a
smaller, subject-specific index first to ensure you have the needed information
ready. A few examples include:
Scholar Indexing Society (S.I.S):
open-access COPENDUM directory that accepts content after production
Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE): focused on
biomedical journals
CAB International: focused on the environment,
agriculture, life science, and public health
PsycINFO: the American Psychological Association’s
database
Part
II of this series, to be featured next month, will focus on application
requirements and practical first steps when you’re ready to start the indexing
process. Part III will discuss common reasons for rejections and lessons
learned from past rejections to avoid repeating. If there are additional
aspects of indexing you’d like to see addressed in future posts, we’d love to
hear from you in the comments.
NOTE: Technical Editorial does not
recommend one index over another and this is not an exhaustive list. All
information is provided for educational purposes only. We recommend additional
research on applicable indexes and would be happy to assist in doing so.
