What Is Journal Quartile Ranking?

Guest Author – Azizul Haque
Assistant Professor, Yeungnam University.

Journal quartile ranking is a statistical method of classifying academic journals based on their quality and impact. It is mainly determined using data from internationally recognized databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. Each journal is comparatively evaluated within its subject area and divided into four tiers: Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. This classification, or quartile, is often considered a key indicator of journal ranking.

Specific indicators or metrics are used to determine which quartile a journal belongs to. The main ones are: Impact Factor (IF), CiteScore, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), and SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper). Impact Factor is usually determined from the Web of Science database, whereas CiteScore, SJR, and SNIP are Scopus-based indicators. Within each subject area, journals are ranked using these metrics, and this rank is divided by the total number of journals to determine a value known as the Z score. Based on this Z score, it is determined whether a journal falls into the Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4 quartile.

The Different Quartiles

Q1: The most prestigious quartile, which includes the top 25% of journals within each subject area.

Q2: Journals ranked from 26% to 50%. These journals also publish high-quality research and follow a reliable peer-review process.

Q3: Journals in the Q3 quartile usually fall within the 51% to 75% range based on ranking within their subject area. These are of moderate quality compared to others, and the peer-review process tends to be somewhat less rigorous than in Q1 or Q2.

Q4: The lowest or last quartile, which includes journals ranked from 76% to 100%. These journals generally have lower impact factors and citation counts.

Method for Determining Quartile Ranking

Q1: 0% < Z ≤ 25% – The highest-ranked journals in any category

Q2: 25% < Z ≤ 50%

Q3: 50% < Z ≤ 75%

Q4: 75% < Z – The lowest-ranked journals in any category

Formula for Determining Z

Z = (X/Y)

X = Position of the journal based on impact factor within a specific subject area

Y = Total number of journals in that subject area

Example

If a journal is ranked 78th out of a total of 314 journals in a specific subject area based on its impact factor, then Z = 78 ÷ 314 = 0.248 (or 24.8%). Since the Z score is below 25%, this journal will be considered a Q1 quartile journal.

If a journal is ranked 102nd out of a total of 204 journals in a specific subject area based on its impact factor, then Z = 102 ÷ 204 = 0.5 (or 50%). As this Z score falls between 25% and 50%, the journal will be included in the Q2 quartile.

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