Nucleic Acids Research JIF: 2-Year vs 5-Year

Nucleic Acids Research’s Journal Impact Factor (JIF)

Nucleic Acids Research's Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is the annual citation metric Clarivate publishes for the journal in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR): citations in a given JCR year to Nucleic Acids Research articles published in the preceding two years (or five, for the 5-year version), divided by the number of citable items the journal published in that window. Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) is an open-access, biweekly molecular biology and biochemistry journal published by Oxford University Press since 1974 (ISSN 0305-1048 print, 1362-4962 online). Per Oxford University Press's own journal page (academic.oup.com/nar), verified 16 August 2026, NAR's 2025 Impact Factor is 15.0 (2-year) and its 2025 Five-Year Impact Factor is 17.6.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 23 Aug 2026

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Worked examples

Is an instance

A molecular biology department's collection-development review cites Nucleic Acids Research's 2-year JIF (15.0) alongside its 5-year figure (17.6) and CiteScore when comparing subscription value across biochemistry titles, specifying which window each number uses.

Is an instance

A bibliometrics office lists NAR's JIF as one data point in a departmental research-output summary, alongside category-normalized citation counts, rather than as the sole indicator of the journal's standing.

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance

Using Nucleic Acids Research's JIF to judge the quality or rigor of a specific paper published in the journal, rather than the journal's average citedness.

Not an instance

Quoting NAR's 5-year Impact Factor (17.6) as if it were the 2-year figure (15.0), or vice versa, without specifying which window is being cited.

Nucleic Acids Research’s Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is the annual Clarivate citation metric the journal receives in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR): citations in a JCR data year to Nucleic Acids Research articles published in the two preceding years, divided by the number of citable items the journal published in those two years. Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) is an open-access, biweekly molecular biology and biochemistry journal published by Oxford University Press since 1974 (ISSN 0305-1048 print, 1362-4962 online).

Nucleic Acids Research’s Impact Factor in 2026: what the named sources actually say

Nucleic Acids Research’s Journal Impact Factor is 15.0, for the 2025 JCR data year — the release Clarivate issued in June 2026. The source is Oxford University Press’s own About page for the journal (academic.oup.com/nar/pages/About), where the figure appears under a Clarivate heading. It appears there verbatim as “2025 Impact Factor: 15.0”, retrieved 23 August 2026. That is the publisher restating Clarivate’s number for its own title — not a third-party JCR-tracking aggregator and not a Wikipedia infobox, either of which can lag behind or drift from the release Clarivate actually issued.

Sources disagree, so here are both. A cataloguing trap worth knowing: the NLM Catalog also holds records for “Nucleic Acids Research. Supplement” and “Nucleic Acids Symposium Series”, both of which are not currently indexed for MEDLINE. Those are separate, ceased publications, not the main journal, which is currently indexed.

The same publisher page also shows a CiteScore of 29.8. That is Elsevier/Scopus’s metric, computed over a four-year window and a broader document set, and it is not a second opinion on the Impact Factor. Quoting the larger number as though it were the JIF is the single most common sourcing error on this metric.

Clarivate republishes the JCR every June, so this figure is current only for the 2025 data year. Re-check it at the publisher’s page or in JCR itself before putting it in a CV, tenure file, grant application or funder report — and say which data year you mean when you cite it.

What CASRAI could verify at source

ISSN: 0305-1048 (print), 1362-4962 (online) — Crossref journal record, checked 23 August 2026.
Publisher: Oxford University Press — Crossref journal record, checked 23 August 2026.
PubMed / MEDLINE: Currently indexed for MEDLINE; MEDLINE coverage v1n1, Jan. 1974- — NLM Catalog record, checked 23 August 2026.
DOAJ: Listed in DOAJ; record added 6 October 2002 — DOAJ API, checked 23 August 2026.
Journal Impact Factor: 15.0 for the 2025 JCR data year; 5-year Impact Factor 17.6; CiteScore 29.8 (a different metric — see above) — Oxford University Press’s own About page for the journal (academic.oup.com/nar/pages/About), where the figure appears under a Clarivate heading, retrieved 23 August 2026.

What the number actually measures

The JIF is a ratio: citations received in a given year to citable items (articles and reviews) the journal published in the two preceding years (or five, for the 5-year version), divided by the number of those citable items. NAR publishes a high volume of methods papers, database and web-server descriptions, and primary research across nucleic acids biochemistry and molecular biology — a mix that shapes its citation profile relative to narrower subfields.

Why this number alone is a poor stand-in for quality

Citation-tracking organizations including DORA and the CoARA coalition caution against using a journal-level metric like the JIF to evaluate an individual article, author, or grant applicant. NAR’s JIF describes the journal’s average two-year (or five-year) citedness, not the citation trajectory of any specific paper it publishes, and it should be read alongside other indicators such as CiteScore or category-normalized citation counts rather than in isolation.

Related terms

Journal Impact Factor (JIF) — the general metric definition
CiteScore — Elsevier/Scopus’s competing journal-level metric
DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment) — the responsible-metrics framework cautioning against JIF misuse

Last verified: 16 August 2026. Clarivate refreshes Journal Citation Reports figures every June; treat any specific number on this page as time-stamped to the release named next to it, not a permanent property of the journal, and re-check the source named above after the next June release.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Nucleic Acids Research’s current Journal Impact Factor?

Per Oxford University Press’s own journal page (academic.oup.com/nar), confirmed 16 August 2026, NAR’s 2025 Impact Factor is 15.0 (2-year) and its 2025 Five-Year Impact Factor is 17.6. Clarivate updates JCR every June, so re-check the publisher’s page after the next release before citing either figure formally.

What is the difference between NAR’s 2-year and 5-year Impact Factor?

The 2-year figure (15.0) counts citations to articles published in the two preceding years; the 5-year figure (17.6) widens that window to five preceding years. Both are published by Clarivate for the same JCR data year, but they are not the same number and should not be quoted interchangeably.

How is Nucleic Acids Research’s Journal Impact Factor calculated?

The JIF is a ratio: citations received in a given year to citable items (articles and reviews) the journal published in the two (or five) preceding years, divided by the number of those citable items — the same mechanical calculation Clarivate applies to every JCR-indexed journal.

Should Nucleic Acids Research’s Journal Impact Factor be used to judge an individual article or researcher?

No. DORA and the CoARA coalition caution against using a journal-level metric like the JIF to evaluate an individual article, author, or grant applicant. It is best read alongside other indicators, such as CiteScore or category-normalized citation counts, rather than in isolation.

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