Each year, key scholarly platforms—Web of Science (via Journal Citation Reports), Scopus (CiteScores), and Dimensions—offer fresh insights into how academic journals are performing. These tools track citation patterns, research impact, and interdisciplinary reach, helping researchers, publishers, and institutions understand the evolving landscape of scholarly publishing.

In this Q&A, we talk to Dr. Constanze Schelhorn, MDPI’s Head of Indexing, to discuss what these metrics reveal, what it takes for a journal to be indexed, and how MDPI’s Indexing Department supports the visibility and growth of our publications across major databases.

What can we learn from the annual update of citation metrics in the Journal Citation Reports?

Every June, Clarivate releases its Journal Citation Reports (JCR), offering a snapshot of how scholarly journals are performing across disciplines. At the heart of the JCR is the Journal Impact Factor, a widely recognized metric that reflects how often a journal’s articles are cited.

But beyond just rankings, the JCR offers deeper insights into global research trends and the circulation of knowledge across disciplines. It highlights how journals are interconnected, through thematic overlap and cross-disciplinary influence.

This year, we’re proud to share that 60 new and emerging MDPI journals are included in the 2024 edition and receiving their first-ever Impact Factor. The upcoming metrics are based on citations in 2024 to articles published in 2022 and 2023, providing a timely view of a journal’s recent visibility and influence. Altogether, close to 300 MDPI journals appear in the rankings across various subject areas.

What does it take for a journal to be included in a Web of Science index?

For any journal, being indexed in Web of Science is a major step. It signals quality, credibility, and global reach. At MDPI, we work hard to ensure our journals meet the standards set by Clarivate.

The evaluation process focuses on several key areas, including the following:

• Editorial standards: Clear peer review policies, ethics standards and guidelines in place.
• Relevance and scope: Content that contributes meaningfully to academic discourse.
• International diversity: A mix of global authorship and citations to reflect a broad scholarly impact.

The milestone of 300 journals in Web of Science was reached in 2024. What other key achievements for database coverage would you like to highlight?

In addition to reaching 300 journals in Web of Science, 2024 saw continued growth across other major indexing platforms. Fifty MDPI journals are covered in Ei Compendex by now. In the past year, 39 titles were accepted for Scopus, bringing the total number of MDPI journals indexed in Scopus to 307 by the end of 2024.

What role does the Indexing Department play in improving journal indexing and visibility?

Behind the scenes, our Indexing Department plays a crucial role in expanding the reach of MDPI’s journals. The team is responsible for preparing and submitting applications to all major indexing and abstracting databases.

Once a journal is accepted, the department manages the delivery of structured metadata and full-text content, ensuring everything is submitted accurately and on schedule. Their work is essential to ensuring our journals remain visible, accessible, and properly cited across platforms like Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed (PMC/MEDLINE), and others.

Publish with MDPI, publish with impact

The Journal Citation Reports offer essential insights into journal influence and research trends through metrics like the Journal Impact Factor.

Inclusion in databases like the Web of Science Core Collection requires rigorous editorial standards, ethical publishing policies and relevance within the scholarly community—key milestones for journal credibility.

MDPI’s Indexing Department plays a central role in expanding our journals’ visibility, coordinating applications, ensuring timely data delivery, and working effectively in partnership with leading databases.

Click here to learn more about MDPI’s recent CiteScore metrics.