The academic publishing landscape is experiencing rapid and significant changes, driven by shifting global trends and evolving challenges. While the pandemic temporarily inflated Journal Impact Factors (JIF) due to a surge in COVID-related research, the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Report reveals a stark reversal, with an average 14% decline in JIFs across publishers.
The academic community is increasingly focusing on alternative metrics and deeper bibliometric insights, as funders and institutions shift their priorities to assess the broader impact of research. Staying competitive in this environment requires more than just maintaining impact factors; it necessitates tracking emerging trends in science, identifying underrepresented areas, and strategically aligning with them.
That’s why Maverick developed Journal Performance Analysis (JPA), a straightforward approach to addressing key challenges in publishing today.
The Next Step in Journal Excellence
By analyzing citation trends, identifying geographic and institutional gaps, benchmarking against competitors, and offering keyword-driven insights, Journal Performance Analysis helps publishers adapt to these challenges. The analysis provides a strategic, data-driven approach to navigate the complexities of modern academic publishing, helping journals remain impactful and relevant.
A Strategic Framework for Success
JPA begins with a comprehensive needs assessment, during which data is gathered to understand the journal’s current position, identify key challenges, and define focus areas.
Following this, JPA employs a multi-layered analytical approach:
- Citation Analysis: Tracks citation trends, identifies uncited articles, and evaluates regional contributions to assess performance over recent years.
- GAP Analysis: Highlights underrepresented regions, institutions, and funding sources to identify growth opportunities.
- Keyword and Market Analysis: Evaluates trending topics and keywords in the journal’s subject area while also analyzing the broader market to identify high-impact research trends and align journal content accordingly.
- Competitor Benchmarking: Compares the journal’s performance against competitors to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for differentiation.
The findings are compiled into an actionable report tailored to the needs of editors, marketing teams, and journal management, offering strategic recommendations to enhance visibility, increase citations, and strengthen competitive positioning. By combining in-depth analytics with Maverick’s publishing expertise, JPA provides publishers with practical insights to enhance performance metrics for their journals.
Rethinking Performance with JPA
What makes JPA distinctive is its combination of advanced bibliometric analysis with tailored recommendations, addressing each journal’s specific needs. By focusing on emerging trends, identifying gaps, and benchmarking against competitors, Maverick’s Journal Performance Analysis provides a clear and actionable path to achieving sustainable growth and impact.
Learn More
If you’re considering ways to enhance your journal’s performance, Maverick can help you explore how JPA can help increase citations, expand global reach, and improve your journal’s competitive position. The Journal Performance Analysis can be part of a program-wide review of areas such as marketing, brand, positioning, structure, finance, revenue, and more. Contact your Maverick representative or email info@maverick-os.com to learn more about our services.
By Mert Köse, Affiliate Senior Associate
Mert Köse is an academic publishing professional and a lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University’s media communication department with extensive experience in open-access publishing. He has worked as an M&A representative at Frontiers. Mert has extensive expertise in STM publishing, particularly in editorial development, journal management, and bibliometric analysis. Previously, Mert served as a Research & Development manager at Galenos. He presented a conference on predatory journals at the interdisciplinary Ph.D. communication conference at İstanbul Bilgi University in 2021.
Further Reading
Journal Performance Analysis service sheet
Journal Performance Analysis: Navigating Global Publishing Shifts and Impact Factors
Comprehensive performance analysis of a scientific journal – Case Study