Journal metrics

Volume

The volume of high-quality content we publish in our journals increases the potential for realising impact and helps ensure our journals are accessible to authors across the full breadth of the chemical sciences.

Article submissions

The number of submissions to a journal in the given calendar year.

Chemical Society Reviews and Natural Product Reports have a pre-submission approval process; submission numbers include approved synopses only.

Article publications

The number of editorials and peer-reviewed articles published in issues during the given year.

Reach

We want to ensure that our journal content reaches the right people – so it is seen by those who it is most relevant and will make effective use of it. Citation-based measures give a good indication of reach.

2-year Impact Factor

The yearly average number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a specific journal.

The 2-year Impact Factor is calculated by dividing all citations to the journal in the given year to items published in the previous two years, divided by the total number of scholarly items (articles, reviews, and proceedings) published in the journal in the previous two years.

For example, the 2020 2-year Impact Factor refers to the number of citations received in 2020 to items published in 2018-2019, divided by the number of scholarly items published in 2018-2019

Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports

5-year Impact Factor

The yearly average number of citations of articles published in the last five years in a specific journal.

The 5-year Impact Factor is calculated by dividing all citations to the journal in the given year to items published in the previous five years, divided by the total number of scholarly items (articles, reviews, and proceedings) published in the journal in the previous five years.

For example, the 2020 5-year Impact Factor refers to the number of citations received in 2020 to items published in 2015-2019, divided by the number of scholarly items published in 2015-2019.

Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports

CiteScore™

The average number of citations a scholarly item published within the given or previous three years has received during the same time period, divided by the number of scholarly items published over the same time period.

For example, the 2020 CiteScore refers to the number of citations scholarly items published in 2017-2020 received in 2017-2020, divided by the number of scholarly items published in 2017-2020.

Source: Scopus

Best Impact Factor Category Quartile

Clarivate Journal Citation Reports categorise journals into scientific categories, once ranked by 2-year Impact Factor from high to low the journals are split into quartiles, with Q1 being the upper-most quartile. For journals included in more than one Science Citation Index Expanded™ (SCIE) category, the best quartile and category is listed.

Source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports

Trust

Authors and readers can trust the content in our journals. We combine quality with fast publication, provide comprehensive open access options and we are clear and transparent about the range of peer review models available to authors.

Time to first decision (all decisions)

The median time from manuscript submission to the first decision including rejects without peer review. For submissions with a decision in the previous calendar year.

For Chemical Society Reviews and Natural Product Reports times to first decision refer to full manuscripts submitted following pre-approval as a synopsis.

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only)

The median time from submission to the first decision for submissions that underwent peer review only. For submissions with a decision in the previous calendar year.

Open Access

Find out more about open access at the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Peer Review Model

Single-anonymised: reviewers are anonymous and author names and affiliations are known to reviewers.

Double-anonymised: both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are anonymous (opt in at submission).

Transparent: the editor’s decision letter, reviewers’ comments, and authors’ response for all versions of the manuscript are published alongside the article (opt in at any point prior to acceptance).