Why, when and how to index your journals to Scopus

It’s a leading indexer of scholarly research with an impressive global readership that actively welcomes new contributors — as long as they meet the strict criteria, of course!

Have you been wondering whether Scopus could be a good fit for your journal or journals? And vice versa?

If so, read on to learn more about what Scopus has to offer and how you can navigate its application process.

Scopus indexing 101

Going back to the basics, applying to add your published journals to abstraction and indexing databases is one of the best steps you can take to reach more readers, authors, librarians, educators, and beyond. Adding journals to well-known general and disciplinary indicators helps them increase their academic standing and influence, which, in turn, can improve the likelihood of citations in their articles. And many indicators provide citation counts and reader metrics for the content they cover, making it easier for journals and their authors to track the effects of articles over time..

Quick Tip: You can learn more about all publishers to apply to in this blog post and how to develop a solid journal indexing technique.

Since its founding in the early 2000s, Scopus — Which describes itself as a “source-neutral abstract and citation database compiled by independent subject-matter experts” — has been recognized as one of the top research indicators. At the time of writing this blog post, Scopus includes more than 25,100 titles from 5,000 publishers, spanning 240 academic disciplines — including an astonishing 76.8 million original records. Scopus covers research across the scholarly branch but consists primarily of science and technology articles..

Deciding whether Scopus is the right fit for you

As mentioned above, there are many advantages to adding journals to the Scopus database. In addition to its extensive content coverage across virtually all topics, Scopus is known for its high level of academic rigor, including an annual journal reassessment process, which is “an incentive for journals to maintain their high content quality.” Scopus offers a wide range of metrics for indexed content, including:

• Journal-level metrics like Citescore, which both publish an annual impact score, and site score tracker provide monthly updates on how things are currently shaping up for each indexed title.
• Article-level metrics such as PlumX, which analyze how readers are responding to content in a broader online context (e.g., through tweets, blogs, Wikipedia references, etc.)

Author-level metrics such as the h-index, which aim to provide an objective measure of the overall impact of individual authors’ publication history.

Of course, as Scopus evolved, it also attracted part of the criticism (a quick Google search would reveal). Examples include:

Past questions about the reliability of journal-level metrics produced by Scopus, described by Elsevier as a “heavyweight competitor” to the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in the form of Citsco, are metrics that view all documents as sitable (including editorials, letters to editors, corrections, and news items).

Concerns about the overall dominance of Elsevier products and services in publications, including Elsevier’s involvement in monitoring open science in the European Union on behalf of the European Commission

Recent discussion about Spectre of “Predator Publishing Practices” related to Scopus

Over the years, Scopus has responded to these concerns by reaffirming its commitment to objective assessments and the validity of research quality.

In addition to any criticism of Scopus or other indicators, which all publishers must evaluate on their own terms, the accessibility of content is another important consideration to consider whether Scopus or possibly other alternative indexing options should apply.

While there is no cost to include in Scopus, the fact that its content is only available through annual subscriptions will clearly be important to open access (OA) publishers who are considering registration. Generally speaking, only subscription companies or researchers associated with the company can access Scopus. So there’s no doubt that indexing content on Scopus will expand its potential readers, but it may not reach a wider global audience like other alternative high-quality indexes. For example, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the OpenCisions Index of CrossRef Open DOI-to-DOI Citations (COCI) are among the most accessible free-to-use research databases.

However, Scopus itself allows free access to certain features for non-subscribed users via Scopus Preview, including the opportunity to search for citations and access the author’s publication history.

As you work to develop an indexing strategy, be sure to consider your various journal discoverability and impact goals and create a iteration plan based on them. It’s impossible to add a title to all the indicators on your list at once — so prioritize those that will help you achieve your primary goal first and build from there..

Especially going back to OA journals, it’s vital to think about the reach and accessibility of different discovery services when deciding where to apply. This doesn’t mean that OA journals shouldn’t apply to subscription indices like Scopus (of course, Scopus greatly expands the proliferation of indexing content), but freely available discovery services may be a better place to start promoting uninterrupted content access.

How to apply to index a journal on Scopus

Now that we’ve covered Scopus Basics and considered when and when to apply, let’s get into the minor issues of its indexing criteria.

Of course, in order to maintain a strong reputation, top indexes such as Scopus have strict inclusion requirements and will only accept established and appropriate publications with the needs of their academic audience. Specifically, Scopus has a rigorous selection process that is overseen by its Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB). CSAB is an international team of scientists who specialize in their respective fields of subject matter.

So what does it take to index a journal on Scopus?

In short, to qualify for consideration, a journal must:

Publish peer-reviewed content and the peer review policies/procedures listed on its website are publicly available

Keep content relevant to an international reader (note: title is important; for example, if a journal title includes the name of a country, it will be assumed to be more regionally centralized)

Provide English language summaries and titles

Include references in Roman script

Be a serial title that is published regularly (e.g., bi-monthly)

ISSN International Center Registration

A publicly available publication ethics and misconduct statement (COPE, WAME, ICMJE, and Consort all provide supporting templates)

In general, Scopus also requires that journals have a 2+ year publication history.

Pro tip: If you have any doubts about whether your title meets the minimum criteria, you can go ahead and check the Scopus title advice form to run the trial run in the process. This allows you to save a draft of your application at any time, and you can return to it whenever you want..

Preparing to apply

• Before committing to the Scopus application process, keep in mind that if and when your journal is approved for review, it will be measured with a number of criteria — spanning five categories — as detailed below.
• For a successful result, be sure to tick these boxes as much as possible!
• 1. Journal Policy:
• Include a clear editorial policy on the journal website and a list of members of their academically approved editorial board.
• Clearly explain the type of peer review the journal follows on its website (e.g., single-blind, double-blind, open review)
• Demonstrate diversity in the geographic distribution of both editor and author
• If relevant, the journal should list clear information on OA publishing options (e.g., criteria, costs)
• 2. Contents:
• Academic contributions should be made to all journal content fields
• Summary of journal article should be clear and easily readable
• The published content should be of high quality and consistent with the stated goals and scope of the journal.
• Articles should be well structured and demonstrate readability (e.g., correct grammar, appropriate sentence structure, etc.)
• 3. Journal Standings:
• Display citations in scopus-related journal articles
• Display Editor Location – For this, you must have url(s) for online professional information regarding the main handling editor(s) (e.g., a curriculum vitae/resume, institutional homepage, current affiliation and affiliation, and award/grant history)
• Contact the journal’s publishing house/its role explicitly

4. Publishing Regularity:

There should be no delay or interruption in the publication schedule of the journal.

Journal must have 2+ years of continuous publication history

5. Online availability:

Journal content should be available online

An English-language version of the journal homepage should be found

Journal homepage should be of high quality (e.g., the necessary information front and center, the page is easy to navigate)

Application process:

Once you feel like you’re good by Scopus’ criteria, it’s pretty easy to apply to join the index. First, make sure your three recent journal issues or nine articles and a table of content in PDF format are ready to be uploaded to Scopus as a sample. Then go to the pre-assessment on the Scopus submission page and fill out the form there.

While we don’t have a place to list all form items on this blog, the following give you a taste of the “yes/no” questions you need to answer:

Does the magazine have a minimum publication history of two years? (Reminder: It’s a must)

• Is the journal peer-reviewed?
• Does the journal have a DOI?
• Are the journal’s editors experts in the topics covered by it?
• Does the journal’s website describe copyright and licensing information?
• Is the content of the articles consistent with the scope and goals mentioned in the journal and the high academic standards?
• Are the tables and figures in the article clean and well configured within the content (for example, not just copied and pasted from Excel)?
• Is the content of the articles reasonably structured, easily readable, and understandable?
• Are the goals and scope of the journal available in English and presented on its website?

Of course, there’s no guarantee that your application will be successful, but if your journal meets the detailed criteria of Scopus’ assessment checklist, you should have a good chance of being accepted!

Once your application is ready to be submitted and evaluated by the CSAB, the final step is to submit a complete title consultation form. At this point, you’re probably wondering how long it will take to get an answer from Scopus..

According to the Scopus website: “It varies. We want to ensure that all content submitted is given due attention. Things like the publication schedule and how you deliver content to Elsevier after adoption can also affect time.

The good news is that Scopus allows publishers to track the progress of their evaluation process here.

If your journal is accepted, you will be contacted via email through an engagement manager who will guide the process from there.

Putting everything together

Obviously, for publishers who want to take advantage of indexing their journals, Scopus has a lot to offer — not academic rigor and its reputation for tracking its article-level metrics. And, without a doubt, the content included in Scopus has reached many of the world’s top research institutions.

However, there is no denying that the application process is correct. And, as mentioned, when considering applying to Scopus or any other index, you’ll want to first weigh its potential benefits with other potential options. Indexing is a long-tailed technique, so prioritizing the best match for your publishing stage and needs is paramount.

If you’re interested in moving forward with Scopus indexing now, you’ll probably have more questions that we haven’t been able to cover here. Be sure to check the FAQs for pages that provide Scopus content for the most up-to-date application information.

We hope you found this indexing overview helpful! Please feel free to post any questions in the comments section.