Frontiers journal ranking analysis: Microbiology

With an Impact Factor of 4.076, Frontiers in Microbiology is the 3rd most cited Microbiology journal in the world

This year, 124 journals are listed in the category of Microbiology in the 2016 edition of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), of which 19 are open-access (OA).

The Impact Factor (IF) is measured each year and reported in the JCR by Clarivate Analytics (formerly known as Thomson Reuters), along with citations and other metrics of journal impact. The IF of a journal is the average number of citations received last year to articles published in the previous two years – and is universally regarded as a metric of journal quality. The total number of citations captures how much research is built on the papers published in a journal and is therefore a measure of influence of a journal on a field. As such, the 2016-JCR analysis is based on citations in 2016 to articles published in 2014 and 2015.

Our analysis shows that the quality, impact and influence of Frontiers journals are steadily growing.

With an Impact Factor of 4.076, Frontiers in Microbiology is the 3rd most cited of all journals in the category of Microbiology, with a total of 8,498 citations in 2016 to 2,085 articles published in 2014 and 2015 (Figure 1).

In 2016, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology  received 1,087 citations to 253 articles published in 2014 and 2015. With an Impact Factor of 4.300, the journal is the 5th most cited open-access journal in the Microbiology category (Figure 2).

Overall, with journals listed across 20 JCR categories, Frontiers’ Impact Factors are consistently ranked among the best performing journals, ranking as high as at the 96th percentile.

In summary, Frontiers in Microbiology:

  • Is the 3rd most-cited journal, with 8,498 citations.

  • Ranks at the 80th percentile of Journal Impact Factors in the category of Microbiology.

Read Frontiers in Microbiology Report here.

In summary,  Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology:

  • Is the 5th most-cited open-access journal, with 1,087 citations.

  • Ranks at the 81st percentile of Journal Impact Factors in Microbiology.

Read Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology Report here.

Top 10 most cited journals in Microbiology

Top 10 most cited journals in Microbiology in the 2016-JCR
Top 10 most cited journals in Microbiology in the 2016-JCR

Figure 1. Total number of citations in 2016 to articles published in 2014 and 2015, for the top 10 most cited journals in Microbiology. Bar plot shows Frontiers in Microbiology (in red) ranks 3rd most cited over all 124 journals (subscription and open-access) indexed. The results are based on the 2016 Journal Citation Reports, released in 2017 by Clarivate Analytics.

Top 10 most cited open-access journals in Microbiology

Top 10 most cited open-access journals in Microbiology in the 2016-JCR
Top 10 most cited open-access journals in Microbiology in the 2016-JCR

Figure 2. Total number of citations in 2016 to articles published in 2014 and 2015, for the top 10 most cited open-access journals in Microbiology. Bar plot shows Frontiers in Microbiology (in red) ranks 2nd most cited over 19 open-access journals indexed, and Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology (in red) ranks 5th most cited open-access journal in Microbiology. The results are based on the 2016 Journal Citation Reports, released in 2017 by Clarivate Analytics.

Scientific Excellence at Scale

Frontiers has become one of the largest open-access publishers in the world and is leading many of the technological innovations in Open Science. We engineered our Collaborative Peer Review with a review mandate focused on enhancing article quality by means of rigorous and constructive feedback from expert reviewers, quick and direct interactions between authors, reviewers and the editor. We enable their work with our unique review forum platform, and we introduced transparency and accountability by acknowledging reviewers and editors on the published articles.

With journals listed across 20 academic categories in the 2016-JCR, Frontiers journals rank in the top percentiles of Impact Factors and total citations. This confirms the rapidly growing success and influence of the Frontiers Open Science model, that consistently delivers scientific excellence at scale.

All of this is only possible with a stellar editorial board of researchers. Frontiers congratulates Field Chief Editor Martin G Klotz, all Specialty Chief Editors, and Specialty Journal Chief Editor Yousef Abu Kwaik,  as well as the diligent contributions of the Associate and Review Editors and the Frontiers Journal Management team for this outstanding achievement.

Read Frontiers in Microbiology Report here.

Read Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology Report here.

 Microbiology Editorial Board

(see full Frontiers in Microbiology board here)

(see full Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology board here)

Martin Klotz, Frontiers Media SA | Field Chief Editor, Microbiology

Rustam Aminov, University of Aberdeen | Specialty Chief Editor, Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy

Jonathan Zehr, University of California, Santa Cruz | Specialty Chief Editor, Aquatic Microbiology

Hongyue Dang, Xiamen University | Specialty Chief Editor, Aquatic Microbiology

Yousef Abu Kwaik, University of Louisville | Specialty Chief Editor, Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Ludmila Chistoserdova, University of Washington | Specialty Chief Editor, Evolutionary and Genomic Microbiology

John Battista, Louisiana State University | Specialty Chief Editor, Evolutionary and Genomic Microbiology

Andreas Teske, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Specialty Chief Editor, Extreme Microbiology

Giovanna Suzzi, University of Teramo | Specialty Chief Editor, Food Microbiology

Aldo Corsetti, University of Teramo | Assistant Specialty Chief Editor, Food Microbiology

Maurizio Del Poeta, Stony Brook University | Specialty Chief Editor, Fungi and Their Interactions

Axel Brakhage, Leibniz-Institut für Naturstoff-Forschung und Infektionsbiologie – Hans Knöll Institut | Specialty Chief Editor, Fungi and Their Interactions

Rustam Aminov, University of Aberdeen | Specialty Chief Editor, Infectious Diseases

Thomas Hanson, University of Delaware | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbial Physiology and Metabolism

Biswarup Mukhopadhyay, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Assistant Specialty Chief Editor, Microbial Physiology and Metabolism

Marc Strous, University of Calgary | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbial Physiology and Metabolism

Suhelen Egan, University of New South Wales | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbial Symbioses

David Berry, University of Vienna | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbial Symbioses

Ariel Anbar, Arizona State University | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbiological Chemistry and Geomicrobiology

Bradley Tebo, Oregon Health & Science University | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbiological Chemistry and Geomicrobiology

William Hickey, University of Wisconsin-Madison | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbiotechnology, Ecotoxicology and Bioremediation

Regina-Michaela Wittich, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas | Specialty Chief Editor, Microbiotechnology, Ecotoxicology and Bioremediation

Matthias Hess, University of California, Davis | Specialty Chief Editor, Systems Microbiology

George Tsiamis, University of Patras | Assistant Specialty Chief Editor, Systems Microbiology

Paul Bodelier, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) | Specialty Chief Editor, Terrestrial Microbiology

Sara Hallin, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | Specialty Chief Editor, Terrestrial Microbiology

Akio Adachi, University of Tokushima | Specialty Chief Editor, Virology

Helene Sanfacon, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada | Specialty Chief Editor, Virology


Read more about Frontiers journals

Read the analysis for other Frontiers journals here. This year, 24 Frontiers journals were indexed in the 2016 edition of the Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2017). 

Read the analysis for other Frontiers journals here. 

Discover the latest Frontiers report here, with key facts and contributions, and details on our leading journals, their impact  and outstanding researchers on board.

Discover the latest Frontiers report here