Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
Citing the metric correctly: 'Applied Physics Letters, Journal Impact Factor 3.8 (2025 Journal Citation Reports, Clarivate), per the AIP Publishing journal page.'
- Is an instance
Keeping metrics apart: Applied Physics Letters shows a Journal Impact Factor of 3.8 (Clarivate) and a CiteScore of 5.8 (Scopus); each is reported with its own provider and year.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Quoting an impact factor with no data year or source, or applying the Applied Physics Letters figure to Physics Letters B, a different journal.
Editorial commentary
Quick answer: The Journal Impact Factor of Applied Physics Letters (APL) is 3.8, from the 2025 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2026). That is the figure AIP Publishing, the journal’s publisher, states on its own About page, checked on 29 October 2026. It is a data-year figure that changes with each annual release, so cite it with its year.
What is the Applied Physics Letters impact factor?
The impact factor is a journal-level citation ratio published by Clarivate in the Journal Citation Reports. For APL, AIP Publishing lists a Journal Impact Factor of 3.8 (2025 Journal Citation Reports, Clarivate, 2026) alongside a CiteScore of 5.8 (2025 Scopus data, calculated by Scopus). The journal is published by AIP Publishing LLC (print ISSN 0003-6951, online ISSN 1077-3118) and describes itself as publishing “concise, timely reports of significant advances in applied physics.”
How the impact factor is calculated
Clarivate describes the Journal Impact Factor as a ratio between citations and recent citable items published. In plain terms: citations received in the data year to items the journal published in the previous two years, divided by the number of citable items it published in those two years. For the 2025 value of 3.8, the data year is 2025 and the counted items come from the two years before it.
Two features of this method matter for a letters journal such as APL. Clarivate notes that review articles tend to be cited more than other article types, and that the Journal Citation Reports does not separate citations to letters, reviews and research articles. The number is therefore a blend across article types, not a measure of any one kind of paper.
Impact factor vs CiteScore for APL
AIP Publishing shows two different metrics for APL: 3.8 (Journal Impact Factor, Clarivate) and 5.8 (CiteScore, Scopus). They come from different databases, are calculated by different organisations and use different rules, so the two values are not interchangeable and should never be compared as if one were a corrected version of the other. State the metric name, the provider and the year every time.
Why different sites show different numbers
The same journal and year can appear with different values on aggregator and tracker sites, which may copy, round or recompute figures, or report an earlier data year without saying so. AIP Publishing states 3.8 for the 2025 Journal Citation Reports on its own page. The dependable approach is to take the number from the journal’s own metrics statement or from the Journal Citation Reports itself, and to record the data year with it. For the same practice applied to other titles, see the Scientific Reports impact factor and Nature Communications impact factor entries.
Physics Letters B is a different journal
Physics Letters B is a separate title published by Elsevier, not a variant of Applied Physics Letters. It has its own metrics and its own publisher page. Do not carry the APL figure over to it; look up its value on the publisher’s journal page or in the Journal Citation Reports for the year you need.
Cautions when using the impact factor
- It describes the journal, not the paper. Clarivate states that citation frequencies for individual articles are quite varied, so a journal’s value says little about any single article in it.
- Compare within a subject category. Clarivate advises comparing a journal especially with others in the same subject category.
- Use it with informed judgement. Clarivate’s own guidance is that the impact factor should be used with informed peer review, not as a stand-alone measure of quality.
- Name the year. A figure without its data year cannot be checked or reproduced.
Frequently asked questions
What is the impact factor of Applied Physics Letters?
AIP Publishing states a Journal Impact Factor of 3.8 from the 2025 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2026).
Is the CiteScore the same as the impact factor?
No. AIP Publishing lists a CiteScore of 5.8 calculated by Scopus alongside the Clarivate impact factor of 3.8. They are separate metrics from separate providers.
Is the Physics Letters B impact factor the same as Applied Physics Letters?
No. Physics Letters B is a different journal published by Elsevier, so the APL figure does not apply to it.
Does the impact factor tell me how good one paper is?
No. Clarivate notes that citation frequencies for individual articles are quite varied and that the impact factor should be used with informed peer review.
Sources
- AIP Publishing, Applied Physics Letters About page: https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apl/pages/about (checked 29 October 2026).
- Clarivate, essay on the Journal Impact Factor: https://clarivate.com/academia-government/essays/impact-factor/ (checked 29 October 2026).
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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