How to verify whether a journal is currently indexed

The short answer

To verify that a journal is currently indexed, look it up yourself in the database it names: Scopus Sources (external link) for Scopus, the Web of Science Master Journal List (external link) for Web of Science, and DOAJ (external link) for open access journals. Then confirm three things. The record must describe the journal you mean (same title, publisher, and ISSNs). The coverage must be current, not only historical. And the website you plan to submit through must be the one reached from the record or from the publisher’s own site. Note the date you checked, because indexing status can change.

Each check takes a few minutes. Together they protect you from the most common problems: outdated claims, confusion between similarly named journals, and websites that impersonate legitimate journals.

Why indexing claims need checking

Indexing means that a bibliographic database has selected a journal for coverage and adds its articles to the database’s records. Scopus, owned by Elsevier, and Web of Science, owned by Clarivate, each run their own selection and re-evaluation processes, and each can stop covering a journal it previously indexed. A statement on a journal’s homepage that it is “indexed in Scopus” or “in Web of Science” is the journal describing itself. It may be accurate, out of date, or imprecise.

The problems you are most likely to meet are these:

• Outdated claims. A journal may have been covered in the past and later discontinued, while its website still displays the database’s logo.
• Imprecise claims. Web of Science is made up of several collections. A journal in one collection is not in all of them, and some institutions and funders specify particular collections.
• Look-alike titles. Journals with similar names are easily confused, especially when abbreviations are involved.
• Impersonation. A cloned or hijacked website can copy a real journal’s title, ISSN, and indexing claims without any connection to that journal.

Checking the database directly settles the question for the day you check it.

Checking Scopus

Elsevier describes the Scopus source title page as freely available, so you do not need a subscription to look a journal up. Elsevier also publishes a downloadable source title list on its Scopus content coverage page (external link). According to that page, the list is updated monthly and includes discontinued sources.

1. Open Scopus Sources (external link) and search by ISSN. Searching by title alone can return journals with similar names.
2. Open the source record and compare the title, publisher, and ISSNs with those on the journal’s website.
3. Read the coverage information on the record. You are looking for coverage that continues to the present, not only coverage in earlier years.
4. Download the current source title list from Elsevier’s content coverage page and check whether the title appears among the discontinued sources.
5. Save a screenshot or PDF of the record with the date visible, or note the date in your submission file.

Re-evaluation and discontinued coverage

Elsevier’s Scopus content policy and selection page (external link) explains that Scopus runs an ongoing re-evaluation program. While a title is being re-evaluated, its content flow is suspended. Afterward, the Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board may continue the journal’s coverage or discontinue the forward flow of its content. Content already indexed remains in Scopus as a matter of scientific record.

The practical consequence is easy to miss: older articles from a journal can still appear in Scopus searches after new articles have stopped being added. Finding a journal’s past articles in Scopus does not show that it is indexed now.

Checking Web of Science

Clarivate describes its Master Journal List (external link) (MJL) as freely available. Search by ISSN or title, open the journal’s record, and look at which collections cover it. The Web of Science Core Collection (external link) includes four journal citation indexes that authors meet most often:

• SCIE: Science Citation Index Expanded
• SSCI: Social Sciences Citation Index
• AHCI: Arts & Humanities Citation Index
• ESCI: Emerging Sources Citation Index

The Core Collection also includes citation indexes for conference proceedings and books. If your institution, funder, or promotion committee requires a particular collection, confirm that the journal appears in that collection specifically, not just “in Web of Science.”

On-hold and de-listed journals

Clarivate also re-evaluates journals it already covers. Under its editorial policies (external link), a journal under re-evaluation can be placed on hold, which means new content is not indexed while the review is under way. A journal that is removed from coverage is taken off the MJL and listed as an editorial de-listing in Clarivate’s Monthly Changes files. If a record shows a hold, treat the journal’s status as unresolved and factor that into your decision.

Checking DOAJ for open access journals

The Directory of Open Access Journals (external link) (DOAJ) indexes peer-reviewed open access journals across disciplines, languages, and business models, and its services are open to everyone. If an open access journal says it is listed in DOAJ, search for it by title or ISSN and compare the DOAJ record with the journal’s website, including what the record says about fees and licensing.

Keep two limits in mind. DOAJ covers only open access journals, so a subscription or hybrid journal will not appear there. And because journals must apply to be included, absence from DOAJ is not by itself evidence of a problem. A claim of DOAJ inclusion that you cannot find in DOAJ, however, is a reason to look more closely.

Matching the journal’s identity

A database record is only useful if it describes the journal you are actually dealing with. Three checks help.

ISSNs: print, electronic, and linking

An ISSN is an eight-digit code that identifies a serial publication. The ISSN International Centre states that an electronic version of a printed publication must have its own ISSN (external link), even if the title is identical. Many journals therefore have both a print ISSN and an electronic ISSN (often labeled e-ISSN or online ISSN), and a linking ISSN (ISSN-L) groups the different media versions of the same publication. When you compare a database record with a journal’s website, check that each ISSN matches, and look up any unfamiliar number on the ISSN Portal (external link).

Title changes

Under ISSN rules, a substantial change of title generally means a new ISSN. If a journal has been renamed, a database may show the earlier title, the new one, or both, with different ISSNs and coverage dates. Make sure the coverage you are relying on applies to the journal’s current title.

Cloned and hijacked journal websites

A cloned or hijacked journal is a website that imitates a legitimate journal, copying its name, ISSN, and sometimes its indexing badges, in order to collect submissions and fees. Do not reach a journal only through an emailed link or a search result. Start from the database record, the publisher’s official website, or the ISSN record, and compare the domain name, contact details, and submission system with what those sources show. The Think. Check. Submit. journal checklist (external link) offers further questions for judging whether a journal and its publisher are what they claim to be.

What indexing does, and does not, tell you

Indexing tells you that a database has selected the journal against its criteria and, if coverage is current, is still adding its new articles. It does not guarantee the quality of any individual article, the rigor of the journal’s peer review on a given day, or that the journal is the right home for your manuscript. Databases re-evaluate and discontinue titles precisely because circumstances can change after selection.

Treat indexing as one criterion among several: scope and readership, article types, the editorial board, peer-review transparency, timelines, fees, and policies. Our guide on how to choose a journal beyond its impact factor covers those factors, and the guide to article processing charges and publishing models explains how to check what a journal will charge.

Record what you checked, and when

Because indexing status can change between choosing a journal and submitting to it, write down what you found. A short, dated record helps co-authors, supports institutional reporting, and gives you something concrete to refer to if the journal’s status later changes.

Verification of this kind fits naturally into the wider pre-submission checklist. If you are comparing several candidate journals, journal selection support covers indexing alongside fit, policies, and timelines.