Emerging Sources Citation Index

An introduction to the ESCI for journal editors

What is the Emerging Sources Citation Index?

The Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) was launched in late 2015 by Thomson Reuters as a new database in Web of Science. Around 3,000 journals were selected for coverage at launch, spanning the full range of subject areas. Since 2017 the index has been produced by Clarivate Analytics.

The Emerging Sources Citation Index aims to extend the scope of publications in the Web of Science to include high-quality, peer reviewed publications. It ensures important research is visible in the Web of Science Core Collection even if it is not yet internationally recognized.

What are the requirements for indexing?

The selection process is the first step in applying to other Web of Science indexes. These include the Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI).

Journals accepted for coverage must meet the following criteria:

  • Peer reviewed
  • Follows ethical publishing practices
  • Meets technical requirements
  • Has English language bibliographic information
  • Recommended or requested by a scholarly audience of Web of Science users

All journals submitted to the core Web of Science databases will be evaluated. If they’re successful they will be indexed in the ESCI while undergoing more in-depth editorial review.

Timing for evaluation follows Clarivate Analytics’ priorities for expanding database coverage, rather than the date that journals were submitted for evaluation. If a journal is accepted from the ESCI to another database it will no longer be covered in the ESCI. Journals which are indexed can opt out of consideration for further evaluation if they need to improve their citation profile.

Journals can also move from the flagship indexes to the ESCI if they no longer meet the conditions of the flagship index.

Web of Science

Journals indexed in the ESCI will not receive Impact Factors. However, citations from the ESCI will be included in the citation counts for Journal Citation Reports. As such, citations from the ESCI will contribute to the Impact Factors of other journals.

If your journal is indexed in the ESCI it will be discoverable on Web of Science with full citation counts, author information and other enrichment.

Articles in ESCI indexed journals will be included in an author’s h-index calculation. They will also be in analysis conducted on Web of Science data or related products, such as InCites. Taylor & Francis can also use this data to provide you with a more detailed understanding of your journal’s citation performance. Find out more about citations and other research metrics in our post, Understanding Research Metrics.

What are the benefits?

Indexing will improve the visibility of a journal, provides a mark of quality and is good for authors.

We have already seen institutions and funders suggesting publication in an indexed journal, similar to what already takes places with other Web of Science databases.