Citation Impact Factor Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the citation impact factor calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

Use the Citation Impact Factor Calculator

Formulas Used

Impact Factor

impact_factor = citations_year / articles_in_window

Avg Articles per Year

articles_per_year = articles_in_window / window_years

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
citations_yearCitations This Year to Articles in Window320
articles_in_windowArticles Published in Window80
window_yearsWindow (Years)2

How It Works

How Journal Impact Factor is Calculated

The impact factor (IF) measures how frequently articles from a journal are cited.

Formula

IF = Citations in Current Year to Articles Published in Prior Window / Total Articles in Window

The standard window is 2 years. A journal that published 80 articles in 2 years and received 320 citations to those articles has an IF of 4.0.

Context

  • IF > 10: High impact
  • IF 3-10: Good impact
  • IF 1-3: Moderate impact
  • IF < 1: Lower impact

    • Worked Example

    A journal published 80 articles in the last 2 years and received 320 citations to those articles this year.

    citations_year = 320articles_in_window = 80window_years = 2
    1. 01Impact factor: 320 / 80 = 4.000
    2. 02Articles per year: 80 / 2 = 40.0

    Ready to run the numbers?

    Open Citation Impact Factor Calculator