How to check if a journal is really indexed in Scopus or Web of Science

Why a journal's own claim is not enough

Indexing is decided by the database, not by the journal. Elsevier selects Scopus titles through its Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB), and Clarivate's in-house editors select journals for the Web of Science Core Collection. A journal website can still display an "Indexed in Scopus" badge when:

• the journal was never indexed;
• the journal was indexed but has since been discontinued in Scopus or removed from Web of Science;
• the website is a hijacked (cloned) copy of a real indexed journal, using its name and ISSN;
• the journal is listed in a different Clarivate product, not the Web of Science Core Collection.

Each of these can mean your article does not count for your promotion, graduation or grant. The checks below use only free, official tools.

Before you start: collect four details

1. The exact journal title, as printed on its articles.
2. The ISSN (print) and/or eISSN (online). Titles can be copied; ISSNs are a better identifier.
3. The publisher name.
4. The website address where you would submit and pay.

You can confirm that an ISSN is genuine, and see which title it was registered for, on the ISSN Portal.

Step 1: Check Scopus

1. Open Scopus Sources. Elsevier describes this Source Title page as freely available, so you do not need a subscription.
2. Search by ISSN first, then by title. Open the source details page.
3. Compare the title, ISSN and publisher with the details you collected. They should all match.
4. Look at the coverage years. If coverage stops at an earlier year, newer articles may not be indexed.
5. For extra certainty, download the source title list from Elsevier's Scopus content page. It is updated monthly and includes a list of discontinued sources.

Step 2: Check Web of Science

1. Open Clarivate's Master Journal List (MJL) and search by ISSN or title. Searching is free. Clarivate says a free account is needed to see more journal details, and downloading full journal lists is limited to Web of Science subscribers (Clarivate support).
2. Check the collection shown for the journal. The Web of Science Core Collection journal indexes are Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).
3. Be careful: the MJL also lists specialty collections such as Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, Zoological Record and Current Contents Connect. A journal found only in these is not in the Core Collection, which is usually what university rules mean by "Web of Science".
4. Look for an "On Hold" tag. Clarivate uses it for journals being re-evaluated because of concerns about their content; new content is not indexed while a journal is on hold.
5. The MJL is updated monthly, so check again close to the date you submit.

If your rule names a specific index or quartile, read our guide SCI vs SCIE vs ESCI vs Scopus to understand what each label means.

Step 3: Make sure the website is the real journal

This is the step most authors skip, and it is where hijacked journals succeed. A hijacked journal uses the title and ISSN of a genuine indexed journal, so Steps 1 and 2 will look correct while you are on a fake website. To check:

• Find the journal through the publisher's own website, not through an email link or a search advert.
• Compare the website domain with the publisher shown in Scopus or the MJL. A different publisher name or an unrelated domain is a red flag.
• Search the journal name in the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker.
• If you have access through your library, pick two recent articles on the website and search for them in Scopus or Web of Science. If articles on the site never appear in the index, be cautious.
• Check the payment route. Paying a fee to a personal account or through a third-party agent rather than the publisher is a warning sign.

Step 4: Check for predatory practices

A journal can be genuinely indexed and still be a poor choice. Our guide to predatory journals explains the warning signs in more detail. Use the Think. Check. Submit. checklist. Among other things, it asks whether you can identify and contact the publisher, whether the journal is clear about its peer review, whether fees are clearly explained, and whether the journal avoids promising acceptance or a very short review time. Membership of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and, for open access journals, listing in the DOAJ are positive signs, but they are not indexing.

Step 5: Keep evidence

Save dated screenshots or PDFs of the Scopus source page and the MJL record, both when you submit and when your article is published. If your university asks later, you can show the journal's status at the time. Some institutions judge status at the date of acceptance and others at the date of publication, so ask which date your rule uses.

How we can help

For the wider decision of where to submit, see how to choose a journal. Journal verification is part of our journal submission support. Every journal we shortlist comes with its Scopus and Web of Science evidence, checked on the day. We also offer manuscript editing before submission. Researchers in the Gulf and Jordan can see our pages for Saudi Arabia and the GCC and Jordan. Acceptance is always decided by the journal.

Independence: On Time Publication is not affiliated with Elsevier/Scopus, Clarivate/Web of Science, COPE, the ICMJE or any journal. We link to their public guidance so you can check it yourself.

Sources and further reading

We link to official sources so you can check the rules yourself. Always follow your target journal's and institution's current instructions.

• Scopus Sources (free source title search), Elsevier
• Scopus content coverage and source title list (incl. discontinued sources), Elsevier
• Scopus content policy and selection (CSAB, re-evaluation, discontinuation), Elsevier
• Master Journal List, Clarivate
• Web of Science: Master Journal List (support article), Clarivate
• Journal evaluation process and selection criteria, Clarivate
• ISSN Portal, ISSN International Centre
• Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker
• Think. Check. Submit. journal checklist
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)