Citation index (indexing) is an ordered list of cited articles, each accompanied by a list of citing articles. The indexing will be a parameter of the value of your research. Indexing will help the journal for being accessible to a wide audience. Journals must increase their visibility, availability and readership. All academic indexes require journals to follow certain core publishing standards. Here are some basic indexing requirements:
- An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)
- An established publishing schedule
- A copyright policy
- Basic article-level metadata
Some of the most popular indexing include:
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): DOAJ is an open access journals in all disciplines. DOAJ provides access to quality open access and peer-reviewed journals.
- Scopus is a general database of peer-reviewed journals in the scientific, technical, medical, and social sciences. Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings.
- Google Scholar: Google Scholar is not a human-curated database but a search engine of the whole internet which narrows the internet results based on machine automated criteria. Google Scholar Citations lets authors set up a profile page that lists their publications and citation metrics.
- Web of Science: WoS is an interdisciplinary and covers all scientific areas, but it only covers what is considers to “best” journals and concentrates on English language ones. There are three flagship Citation Indexes at the center of WoS Core Collection known as Science Citation Index (SCI), the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), and Emerging Source Citation Index (ESCI).
REFERENCE:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800951/
https://www.editage.com/insights/journal-indexing-101-understanding-the-basics