When a journal makes the shift between the Q2 and Q3 it is hardly a change of quality. Rather, it is typically an indication of stiff rivalry in a particular subject field. Once a journal is no longer a Q2 there are a number of changes that may happen to your research lifecycle.
Perception and Institutional Evaluation
A common practice in lots of universities and funding bodies is to use quartile thresholds to measure faculty performance. The Q2 is sometimes considered to represent above-average impact, and Q3 may sometimes be considered mid-tier or niche. A move towards Q3 can make a paper no longer available to fit the tenure or graduation requirements of your institution which require Q2 publications.
Nevertheless, the majority of committees will review a paper depending on the rank of the journal during its publication. When you publish your work when a journal that is Q2, it normally credits your work in your portfolio. Our Publication Strategy Services involve assisting you in writing up these historical rankings in order to protect your credentials.
Relationships in Citation Velocity
The quartiles are anchored on the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) or CiteScore. When a journal falls to Q3, always suspect that its articles have been less cited over the last two years. Such a change can lead to a decrease in the visibility of your work in multidisciplinary groups. On the upside, the Q3 journals usually serve very specific audiences. Although you may have fewer overall citations, the ones that you have are usually by people in your specific subfield, which can result in more professional partnerships.
Change in Acceptance rates and Speed
Once a journal declines to Q3, its volumes of submission are occasionally reduced with high-prestige-seeking authors turning to other journals. This generates a strategic gap. The acceptance rates and editorial turnaround of Q3 journals are also usually larger and quicker than those of the Q2 journals. A stable Q3 journal could turn out to be the appropriate choice compared to a borderline Q2 journal with an enormous backlog. Should you be interested in having your information quickly published or are meeting an absolute deadline.
The “Borderline” Effect
One should bear in mind that the difference between a low Q2 and a high Q3 journal is statistically insignificant. The reason why a journal could shift to Q3 could be that three or four new and high impact journals. At such points there is no difference in the real prestige of the journal in the eyes of your colleagues.
The way to modify your strategy of publication
Don’t allow a shift of the quartile to confuse your study. Take the following proactive measures to ensure you are ahead of the curve:
- Analyze the Trend: Do not simply consider the rank in this year. Determine whether the journal has been bouncing between Q2 and Q3 over a number of years. A temporary spike is sometimes more worthless than stability.
- Check Category Rankings: A journal may be Q2 in the field of Social Sciences but Q3 in the field of Economics. Always ensure that you check out all the categories to come up with the best possible ranking of your CV.
- Your work is very technical: Not only is a Q3 journal better than a general Q2 journal in case your work gets lost; but also a dedicated readership is important.
- Get the Experts: Have Professional Publication Strategy Services do a risk audit of your target list. We also find the trending journals and your paper will have maximum chances of ranking up in the post publication period.
Conclusion
You need not panic when you drop between Q2 and Q3, but it is time to improve your strategy. This is because by concentrating on the stability of the journal in the long term and your ability to use it in reference to your particular audience, you will be able to keep your research running to support your reputation. Our data-driven insights remove the guesswork in the process at Fast Publications, and they will give you the data necessary to thrive in a changing academic market.
