Latest List of ESCI-Indexed Journals

Last Updated November 2024

If you’ve been exploring the different databases under the Web of Science umbrella, you may have come across something called the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). Launched by Clarivate in 2015, ESCI aims to expand the range of scholarly publications indexed by providing coverage of newly emerging journals. Unlike the Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), or Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), ESCI focuses on newer journals that show promise but may not yet have the citation track record required for the core indexes.

What Are the Differences Between ESCI, SCIE, and SCI?

If you’ve been exploring the different databases under the Web of Science umbrella, you may have come across something called the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). Launched by Clarivate in 2015, ESCI aims to expand the range of scholarly publications indexed by providing coverage of newly emerging journals. Unlike the Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), or Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), ESCI focuses on newer journals that show promise but may not yet have the citation track record required for the core indexes.

The Growing Importance of ESCI in Academic Evaluations

In recent discussions with several scholars, I’ve come across a recurring issue: they’ve submitted articles to journals that have an impact factor (IF) and belong to a particular quartile, only to find that these journals are indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), which means their work is not considered valid for academic evaluations. This raises an important question: what exactly is the difference between ESCI, SCIE, and SCI indexed journals? Today, let’s take a closer look at this issue.

Within the Web of Science Core Collection, we have various databases, including:

• SCIE (Science Citation Index Expanded)
• SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index)
• AHCI (Arts & Humanities Citation Index)
• ESCI (Emerging Sources Citation Index)
• BKCI (Book Citation Index)
• CPCI (Conference Proceedings Citation Index)

As you can see, both SCIE and ESCI are managed by Web of Science. However, let’s focus on the relationship between SCIE and ESCI.

SCIE: The Expanded Science Citation Index

SCIE is essentially an expanded version of the Science Citation Index (SCI), officially launched in 1997. It provides broader journal coverage, including more fields of study compared to the original SCI. Nowadays, the terms SCI and SCIE are used interchangeably to refer to the same database system.

ESCI: A Stepping Stone for Emerging Journals

Launched in 2015 by Clarivate, ESCI was initially designed to index journals that were emerging or in developing fields—journals that, although not yet meeting the stringent standards of SCIE, SSCI, or AHCI, held the potential to gain higher impact and recognition in the academic community.

In 2023, Clarivate expanded the scope of impact factor calculations to include ESCI journals, which means that starting from 2024, some ESCI journals may have higher impact factors and better quartile rankings than SCIE journals.

Does ESCI Quality Always Fall Below SCIE?

Initially, ESCI was designed to include journals that were considered "promising" but had not yet attained the citation track record required for SCIE, SSCI, or AHCI. This might suggest that ESCI journals are lower in quality. However, with the inclusion of impact factors and quartiles, it’s become evident that many ESCI journals now have higher impact factors and better quartile rankings than several SCIE journals. Some ESCI journals even rank in the first quartile (Q1) in the Chinese Academy of Sciences' (CAS) Journal Ranking, indicating their high academic quality.

Do Journals Have to Be in ESCI to Enter SCIE?

A journal does not necessarily have to be indexed in ESCI before being included in SCIE. While ESCI is often seen as a "stepping stone" or "transitional phase" for journals on their way to SCIE or SSCI, this is not a mandatory process.

Currently, many universities and research institutions still view ESCI-indexed journals as lower quality compared to SCIE and SSCI journals, which is why they are often not accepted as valid materials during academic evaluations. However, if an ESCI journal is ranked in Q1 by the CAS, it is likely to be recognized, as domestic institutions typically use CAS rankings for evaluation.

With the growing prominence of ESCI, and if more ESCI journals are gradually included in the CAS ranking system, it is likely that these journals will gain broader recognition in academic evaluations in the future.