Q1 to Q4 quartiles and CiteScore, demystified
“Is it Q1?” has become one of the most common questions in Indian academia — and one of the most misunderstood. Here is what quartiles actually measure, how CiteScore differs from the Impact Factor, and why one journal can honestly be called both Q1 and Q2.
Journal metrics have become shorthand for quality, and quartiles the shorthand for the shorthand. Used well, they help you place a journal; used carelessly, they mislead. This companion to our Scopus publication guide explains the handful of terms you actually need — and the traps inside them.
What a quartile really is
A quartile is a ranking position, not a score. Within a given subject category, all the journals are ranked by a citation metric and then split into four equal groups: the top 25 per cent are Q1, the next 25 per cent Q2, then Q3, then Q4. So "Q1" means "in the top quarter of its category by that metric" — nothing more and nothing less. Two consequences follow immediately. First, a quartile is only meaningful once you know which category and which metric produced it. Second, being Q1 in a small or low-cited category is not the same as being Q1 in a large, competitive one.
CiteScore, SJR and the Impact Factor
Three legitimate metrics sit behind most quartiles. CiteScore, published by Elsevier from Scopus data, is essentially the average number of citations the journal's recent documents received over a defined window — simple and transparent. SJR (SCImago Journal Rank), also Scopus-based, weights each citation by the prestige of the citing journal, so a citation from a leading journal counts for more. Separately, the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is a Clarivate metric computed from Web of Science data, not Scopus. All three are produced by the index that owns the underlying data — which is precisely what distinguishes them from the fake impact factors predatory journals advertise.
Why one journal can be Q1 and Q2 at once
This is the point that confuses people, and it is not a contradiction. A journal is usually assigned to more than one subject category, and it can rank differently in each — top quarter in one field, second quarter in another. Both are true simultaneously. Likewise, a journal can hold a Scopus (CiteScore or SJR) quartile and a separate Web of Science (JIF) quartile that do not match, because they come from different databases and different calculations. When someone quotes "Q1," the useful follow-up is always: in which category, and by which metric?
How to read a quartile without being fooled
Use quartiles as a rough placing, then look past them. Confirm the journal is genuinely indexed where the quartile claims to come from; check the specific category the quartile refers to, because a flattering figure may sit in a tangential category; and remember that a journal-level metric describes the journal's average, not your article's worth. A strong paper in a Q2 journal of exactly the right scope will usually serve you better than a weak fit forced into a nominally Q1 title.
How I actually use quartiles
When I advise scholars on where to submit, I use quartiles as a starting filter and then stop leaning on them. I look at the specific category a quartile comes from, not just the letter and number, because a journal can be dressed up by quoting its friendliest category. Then I weigh the things a quartile cannot see: does the scope genuinely fit the paper, is the readership the one I want, is the review process real and rigorous. A quartile has never once told me whether a paper belongs in a journal — it only tells me roughly how the journal sits among its peers. That is useful context, and it is all it is.
Weighing quartiles for a specific submission, or unsure a journal's metrics are genuine? Verify indexing fast with our free Predatory Journal Risk Checker, or talk to us about matching a journal to your paper.
Frequently asked questions
What does Q1 mean for a journal?
Q1 means the journal is in the top 25 per cent of its subject category when journals are ranked by a citation metric such as CiteScore, SJR or the Journal Impact Factor. Q2 is the next 25 per cent, and so on. A quartile is always relative to a specific category and metric, so it is only meaningful once you know which of each produced it.
Is CiteScore the same as the Impact Factor?
No. CiteScore is published by Elsevier from Scopus data, while the Journal Impact Factor is published by Clarivate from Web of Science data. They measure similar ideas — average citations to a journal's recent articles — but use different databases and calculations, so a journal can have different values and quartiles in each.
Why is the same journal Q1 in one list and Q2 in another?
Because quartiles depend on the category and the database. A journal is often assigned to more than one subject category and can rank in different quartiles across them, and its Scopus-based quartile can differ from its Web of Science one because they use different data. Both figures can be correct at the same time.
Sources and further reading: Elsevier / Scopus documentation on CiteScore and quartiles; SCImago Journal Rank (SJR); Clarivate's Journal Citation Reports and the Journal Impact Factor; and the Web of Science Master Journal List. Definitions are drawn from these public sources and, where noted, from the author's own peer-review practice. Compiled with care; verify any decisive metric at the source.