Direct comparison
Impact Factor Vs Citescore: Key Differences & Comparison | CASRAI
The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and CiteScore are both journal-level citation metrics, but they come from different providers and are calculated differently. JIF (Clarivate, from the Journal Citation Reports) uses a two-year window over selectively indexed journals; CiteScore (Elsevier, from Scopus) uses a four-year window over broader coverage.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Journal Impact Factor | CiteScore |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Clarivate | Elsevier |
| Source database | Web of Science (Journal Citation Reports) | Scopus |
| Citation window | Two-year window | Four-year window |
| Coverage | Selectively indexed journals | Broader Scopus journal coverage |
| What it measures | Mean citations per citable item over the window | Mean citations per document over the window |
| Access | Subscription (JCR) | Freely viewable on Scopus journal pages |
| Document handling | Distinguishes "citable items" in the denominator | Counts a broad set of document types |
| Granularity | Journal-level metric | Journal-level metric |
| Responsible use | DORA cautions against using it to judge individuals | Same caution applies — a journal-level indicator |
Common questions
FAQ
Why do the two metrics give different numbers for the same journal?+
Because they are computed differently. They draw on different underlying databases (Web of Science for the JIF, Scopus for CiteScore), use different citation windows (two years versus four), and treat document types differently. A journal can therefore have a higher or lower value under one metric than the other.
Is one metric better than the other?+
Neither is inherently better — they are different lenses. CiteScore’s longer window and broader coverage suit fields where citations accrue slowly; the JIF’s two-year window emphasises recent impact. Both are journal-level averages and neither should be used as a proxy for the quality of an individual article.
Can I use either to evaluate a researcher?+
You should not. Both are journal-level metrics, and the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) specifically discourages using journal-based metrics such as these as a surrogate for the quality of individual outputs or for hiring, promotion, and funding decisions.
Going deeper
