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Find indexed journals for your paper
Paste your title, keywords or abstract. We match it against 28,582 journal papers published by PhD researchers on ScholarsColab and show where the closest work appeared, with each journal’s indexing (SCIE, SSCI, AHCI, ESCI, Scopus, JCR 2024).
How it works: no AI or language model is used. Your words are matched against the titles of real published papers by our mentors; journals are ranked by how many closely matching papers they published. Indexing comes from the SCIE, SSCI, AHCI, ESCI, Scopus and JCR 2024 lists, matched by journal name; “not found in our indexing lists” does not prove a journal is unindexed. Always check a journal’s scope and current indexing before submitting.
The main indexing lists at a glance
| List | Owner | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| SCIE (Science Citation Index Expanded) | Clarivate, Web of Science | Science, technology and medicine journals that meet its quality and impact criteria |
| SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index) | Clarivate, Web of Science | Social science journals, such as management, economics, psychology and education |
| AHCI (Arts & Humanities Citation Index) | Clarivate, Web of Science | Arts and humanities journals |
| ESCI (Emerging Sources Citation Index) | Clarivate, Web of Science | Journals that meet Web of Science’s quality criteria but not (yet) its impact criteria |
| Scopus | Elsevier | A large multidisciplinary database of journals, conference proceedings and books |
| JCR (Journal Citation Reports) | Clarivate | The annual report that gives Web of Science journals their impact factor and category rankings |
Where researchers actually publish: real data
To show what indexing looks like in practice, we checked every journal in which PhD researchers on ScholarsColab have published against these lists.
ScholarsColab mentors have published journal papers in 12,521 different journals. 4,616 of them (37%), holding 55% of those papers, appear in at least one of the SCIE, SSCI, AHCI, ESCI, Scopus or JCR 2024 lists, and 3,260 appear in more than one.Many journals appear in several lists at once, for example in SCIE, Scopus and JCR together. The finder above shows every list a journal appears in.
Of our mentors’ journal papers, 31% appeared in Web of Science core journals (SCIE, SSCI or AHCI), 7% in ESCI journals, 16% in journals found only in Scopus, and 46% in journals not found in any of these lists.For papers published 2010–2022, the median number of citations was 32.0 in Web of Science core journals, 14.0 in ESCI journals, 8.0 in Scopus-only journals and 3.0 in journals not found in the lists. This is an association: journals that pass stricter selection also tend to attract stronger work, so indexing alone does not cause citations.
Why indexing matters
- Recognition: universities, funders and hiring committees often count only papers in indexed journals.
- Visibility: indexed journals’ papers appear in database searches used by researchers worldwide.
- Quality signal: indexing means the journal passed checks on peer review, ethics, regularity and editorial standards.
- Metrics: impact factor (Web of Science) and CiteScore (Scopus) are calculated only for indexed journals.
How to check a journal’s indexing yourself
- Web of Science: search the journal’s name or ISSN in Clarivate’s free Master Journal List.
- Scopus: search the free Scopus “Sources” page, and check that coverage is current, not discontinued.
- Match the ISSN, not just the name: some journals copy the names of well-known titles.
- Be wary of claims you cannot verify, such as “indexed in Google Scholar” or unknown indexing services, which do not indicate quality.
Common mistakes researchers make
- Trusting the journal’s own website for its indexing status.
- Assuming “Scopus” means current coverage; Scopus discontinues titles that fall below its standards.
- Treating ESCI as equal to SCIE when your institution specifically asks for SCIE or SSCI.
- Choosing a journal only for its indexing without checking that its scope fits your paper.
Frequently asked questions
What is an indexed journal?
An indexed journal has been selected for a citation database such as Web of Science or Scopus after meeting that database’s quality criteria. Its papers become searchable and their citations are counted.
What does SCIE indexed mean?
It means the journal is included in Clarivate’s Science Citation Index Expanded, part of the Web of Science Core Collection, which covers science, technology and medicine journals meeting its quality and impact criteria.
Is Scopus better than Web of Science?
Neither is simply better. Scopus covers more titles; Web of Science is more selective. Which one matters depends on what your university or funder asks for.
Is Google Scholar an indexing database?
Google Scholar finds scholarly material automatically, without a selection process, so appearing in Google Scholar is not a sign of journal quality or indexing.
How can I find indexed journals in my field?
Use the Journal Finder on this page with the Web of Science or Scopus filter, then confirm each suggestion on the official lists.
Want a PhD expert to choose the journal with you?
Our Journal Selection & Submission service shortlists up to 5 journals that match your manuscript, indexing requirement and target quartile, and handles the submission. If your paper was rejected before, a Manuscript Audit shows what to fix first.