- Journal indexing ranges from automatic search engines (Google Scholar) to selective databases that evaluate the journal (DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE).
- A practical order for most open access journals: Google Scholar → DOAJ → Scopus / Web of Science ESCI, with MEDLINE or PMC for biomedical titles.
- Nobody can sell or guarantee indexing. Always verify claims in the database itself, never on the journal's own website.
What journal indexing means
Journal indexing means a database or directory includes your journal and its articles, so researchers can find, cite and evaluate them. For an editor, the question is which databases will accept the journal and what they require. For a researcher, it is usually which journals "count" for a degree, promotion or grant, and how to check that a journal's indexing claims are true.
Two points cause most of the confusion:
- Not all indexes are equal. Some include anything that is technically accessible. Others accept only journals that pass an editorial evaluation, and they re-check those journals over time.
- Infrastructure is not indexing. An ISSN, DOIs from Crossref and ORCID iDs are essential, and every serious database expects them, but having them does not mean your journal is "indexed". Crossref, for example, registers DOIs. It does not evaluate quality.
Types of indexes and databases
| Type | What it does | Examples | Evaluates quality? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic search engines | Crawl the web and include scholarly content automatically | Google Scholar | No, technical inclusion only |
| Directories | List journals that meet published criteria and share their metadata | DOAJ (open access journals), Latindex | Yes, mainly practices and transparency |
| Abstracting & indexing (A&I) databases | Record articles, abstracts and subject terms from selected journals | MEDLINE (with MeSH terms), subject databases | Yes |
| Citation indexes | Also capture references, so citations between articles can be counted | Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus | Yes, and they re-evaluate |
| Full-text archives | Store and display the full text of articles | PubMed Central (PMC), SciELO collections | Yes |
| National or institutional lists | Decide which journals count for local academic purposes | Formerly UGC-CARE in India; national lists in other countries | Depends on the authority |
Journal indexing compared: Google Scholar, DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed
Criteria change, so this table summarises what each service publishes on its own website at the time of writing. Always check the official source before applying.
| Service | Run by / covers | Key entry requirements (summary) | How a journal gets in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Scholar | Google. Scholarly content on the open web. | Crawlable article pages, one article per URL, visible abstracts, citation meta tags, text-based PDFs. | Automatic crawling. No application. |
| DOAJ | Independent non-profit. Fully open access, peer-reviewed journals. | Open access without embargo, ISSN confirmed at issn.org, at least five research articles a year, more than one year of publishing or at least ten articles, at least two independent reviewers per article, clear licence and copyright terms, policies on the website. | Application through a doaj.org account. Decisions are generally reached within six months. |
| Scopus | Elsevier, advised by the independent Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB). Multidisciplinary abstract and citation database. | Peer review with a public description, regular publication, registered ISSN, a publication history to review, English titles and abstracts, publication ethics and malpractice statement. Then 14 criteria in five categories. | Scopus Title Suggestion Form, by the publisher or editor. |
| Web of Science Core Collection | Clarivate. Citation indexes: SCIE (sciences), SSCI (social sciences), AHCI (arts & humanities) and ESCI (Emerging Sources). | 24 quality criteria for all journals (ESCI). SCIE, SSCI and AHCI also require four impact criteria based mainly on citations. | Web of Science Publisher Portal. Only publishers can submit. |
| MEDLINE (searchable in PubMed) | US National Library of Medicine (NLM). Selected biomedical and life sciences journals, indexed with MeSH. | Published for at least 12 months, at least 40 peer-reviewed articles, registered ISSN, abstracts for all peer-reviewed content, then a scientific quality review. | MEDLINE application through NLM's publisher portal. |
| PubMed Central (PMC) (searchable in PubMed) | NLM. Free full-text archive for biomedical and life sciences. | At least 25 peer-reviewed articles, registered ISSN, electronic publication, a publisher with a track record in the field, plus a technical evaluation of XML files. | PMC application through NLM's publisher portal. |
| UGC-CARE (India) | University Grants Commission. Was a list of journals approved for Indian academic purposes. | Discontinued from 11 February 2025. See the next section. | No longer an application route. |
PubMed, MEDLINE and PMC are not the same thing
PubMed is NLM's free search engine. It contains MEDLINE records, PMC articles and some other citations. MEDLINE is the selective, subject-indexed part. PMC is a full-text archive with its own selection process. An individual article can appear in PubMed because its author deposited a funded manuscript in PMC, which does not mean the journal is indexed. When a university asks for "PubMed-indexed", check whether it means MEDLINE specifically. NLM's MEDLINE journal selection page describes its review.
Web of Science indexes in one line each
- SCIE, SSCI, AHCI: the "flagship" indexes. Journals must meet both the quality and the impact criteria.
- ESCI: journals that meet the 24 quality criteria. Since the 2023 Journal Citation Reports release, ESCI journals can also receive a Journal Impact Factor.
- Clarivate's editorial selection process page explains the criteria and the embargo periods after rejection.
UGC-CARE: what changed in 2025
Many Indian researchers still search for "UGC-CARE journals", so it is important to be accurate about where things stand:
- The UGC discontinued the UGC-CARE list from 11 February 2025. It no longer maintains it as an approval mechanism.
- In a public notice dated 16 July 2025, the UGC published suggestive parameters for choosing peer-reviewed journals. They cover preliminary checks, the editorial board, editorial policy, quality, research ethics, visibility and impact. Higher education institutions are expected to apply them to their own disciplines, for example through internal committees.
- The UGC also made available a list of the journals that were on UGC-CARE as of 10 February 2025, for reference only. It states that inclusion or exclusion in that list does not imply validation or endorsement.
What this means in practice: researchers should follow their own university's current written rules, which often name Scopus, Web of Science or other databases. Editors should stop describing journals as "UGC-CARE approved" for new content. Anyone offering "UGC-CARE approval" today is misleading you. Policies can change again, so check the latest notices on the UGC website.
Which journal indexing to pursue first (and why)
There is no official sequence, but this order matches how the criteria build on each other:
- Foundations (before any application)
Registered ISSN, a stable and secure website, an editorial board with verifiable affiliations, a documented peer review process, published policies, a regular schedule and DOIs. These are required or expected almost everywhere.
- Google Scholar (immediately)
It is automatic once the site is set up correctly. Follow our Google Scholar indexing guide for OJS.
- DOAJ (open access journals)
Apply once you have more than a year of publishing or at least ten research articles. DOAJ's transparency checks reveal policy gaps before you face Scopus or Web of Science. See the DOAJ indexing guide.
- Regional and subject indexes
Latindex and SciELO for eligible countries, and the main databases in your discipline.
- Scopus and Web of Science (ESCI)
When you have a solid publication history, international authors and editors, and articles that are being cited. A rejection brings an embargo period, so do not apply too early. See how to get a journal indexed in Scopus.
- MEDLINE / PMC and the flagship Web of Science indexes
For biomedical journals, MEDLINE and PMC once you meet NLM's article thresholds. SCIE, SSCI and AHCI come later, when citation impact supports it.
Is DOAJ a required step before Scopus?
No. Scopus and Web of Science do not require DOAJ listing, and subscription or hybrid journals cannot be in DOAJ at all. For fully open access journals, though, DOAJ is a sensible first milestone because the preparation overlaps heavily.
Is journal evaluation free?
Yes. Evaluation by legitimate indexing databases is free. Clarivate, for example, states that a Web of Science Publisher Portal account and journal evaluation are both free.
What a journal does invest is time and effort: building an editorial board, documenting peer review, publishing regularly, fixing the website and metadata. Some journals choose to get outside help with that preparation, which is fine, as long as nobody claims to influence the decision.
Fake indexing services and misleading metrics
Because indexing matters for careers, an industry has grown up around fake claims. Watch for these warning signs, whether you are an editor or an author choosing a journal:
- Guarantees. "Scopus indexing in six months, guaranteed." No legitimate person can guarantee a decision made by the CSAB, Clarivate's editors, DOAJ or NLM.
- "Contacts inside" the database. Evaluations are done by independent editors and boards. Nobody can sell you a place in Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ or MEDLINE.
- Logo walls. Long strips of "indexed in" logos from obscure services that list any journal on request.
- Invented impact factors. The Journal Impact Factor is published only by Clarivate in Journal Citation Reports. CiteScore comes only from Scopus. Other "impact factors" are not the same thing.
- Hijacked journals. Clone websites that copy a real journal's title and ISSN to collect submissions. Clarivate warns that journals with gaps in their publication schedule are especially vulnerable.
- Outdated badges. Discontinued Scopus titles still claiming Scopus coverage, the DOAJ Seal (retired by DOAJ in April 2025) or "UGC-CARE approved" claims after February 2025.
How to verify that a journal is really indexed
This section is for researchers, students and committee members. The rule is simple: check the database, not the journal's website.
| Database | Where to check | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Scopus | Scopus Sources (scopus.com/sources, free to search) or the source title list on Elsevier's content policy page | Coverage years that include the current year; not on the discontinued titles list; same ISSN and publisher. |
| Web of Science | Master Journal List | Which index: SCIE, SSCI, AHCI or ESCI. The list also shows other Clarivate products, which are not the Core Collection. |
| MEDLINE | NLM Catalog | The record's "Current Indexing Status" should say currently indexed for MEDLINE. |
| DOAJ | doaj.org journal search | Search by ISSN; check that the journal URL in DOAJ matches the site you are on. |
| ISSN | ISSN Portal | The ISSN belongs to this exact title. An ISSN is an identifier, not a quality mark. |
| Google Scholar | Search article titles | Useful for visibility only. It says nothing about quality. |
If the database record lists a different website from the one you are on, you may be looking at a hijacked clone. Contact the publisher through the address given in the database record.
Quick summary for researchers and students
If your course or a journal selection exercise asks you to explain indexing services, these short definitions are a good starting point.
Elsevier's curated abstract and citation database across all disciplines. Titles are selected by the independent CSAB and re-evaluated. Its journal metric is CiteScore.
Clarivate's citation indexes (SCIE, SSCI, AHCI, ESCI) with strict editorial selection. Journal Citation Reports publishes the Journal Impact Factor.
NLM's free biomedical search engine. MEDLINE is the selectively indexed core (MeSH terms); PMC is the full-text archive.
A community-curated directory of fully open access, peer-reviewed journals that meet transparency and best-practice criteria.
A free academic search engine that includes content automatically. Broad coverage, no quality evaluation; h5-index metrics.
India's former reference list of quality journals, discontinued in February 2025 and replaced by suggestive parameters applied by institutions.
How to decide which requirement applies to you: read your institution's current written policy, identify which databases it names, verify the journal in those databases yourself, and then check the journal's scope, peer review and ethics. When in doubt, ask your library.
What an ethical indexing consultant can and cannot do
Searches for "journal indexing services" and "journal indexing consultants" return everything from genuine publishing experts to outright scams. Here is the honest line:
Can do
- Audit your journal against the published criteria of each database.
- Fix the website, OJS configuration, metadata, DOIs and PDFs.
- Help you draft and organise policies that your editors adopt.
- Prepare the information an application asks for, with your team.
- Explain rejection feedback and plan improvements.
Cannot (and should never) do
- Guarantee acceptance or a timeline.
- Contact or influence reviewers and board members.
- Add "editors" who have not agreed to serve.
- Arrange citations or self-citation to lift metrics.
- Submit applications with answers that do not match reality.
OJS Academy works on the "can do" side only. With 10+ years of experience and 80+ academic journals supported, our journal indexing preparation service gives you a clear readiness report and a prioritised plan, with no false promises. If you are not sure where your journal stands, ask for an indexing readiness check.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a journal indexed in Web of Science and PubMed, and is applying free?
The publisher applies directly: to Web of Science through Clarivate's Web of Science Publisher Portal, and to MEDLINE or PubMed Central through NLM's publisher portals. Applying to these databases is free. What takes time is meeting their criteria: peer review, ethics policies, a regular schedule, an international editorial board and, for PubMed, a minimum number of published peer-reviewed articles.
Should we apply to DOAJ first and then Scopus and Web of Science?
For a fully open access journal that is a sensible order, but it is not a formal rule. Scopus and Web of Science do not require DOAJ listing. DOAJ checks many of the same basics (policies, peer review, licensing, transparency), so preparing for it fixes gaps early. See our DOAJ indexing guide.
Is Google Scholar considered journal indexing?
Google Scholar is a search engine that includes content automatically. It does not evaluate journal quality, so most universities and funders do not count it as indexing. It is still essential for visibility. See Google Scholar indexing for OJS.
What is the difference between Scopus and Web of Science?
Both are selective citation databases run by commercial companies: Scopus by Elsevier, Web of Science by Clarivate. Scopus uses an independent board (the CSAB) and 14 criteria in five categories, and produces CiteScore. Web of Science Core Collection uses 24 quality criteria for ESCI plus four impact criteria for SCIE, SSCI and AHCI, and its Journal Citation Reports publish the Journal Impact Factor.
Is the UGC-CARE list still valid?
No longer as an approval list. UGC discontinued the UGC-CARE list from 11 February 2025 and later issued suggestive parameters that institutions use to choose journals. A reference list of journals that were on UGC-CARE on 10 February 2025 was published for reference only, without endorsement. Always check your university's current rules.
Can an indexing consultant guarantee Scopus or Web of Science indexing?
No. Decisions are made by the databases' own editors and advisory boards. An honest consultant can assess your journal against the criteria and help you fix gaps, but cannot promise acceptance or influence reviewers. That is how our indexing preparation service works.
How can I check whether a journal is really indexed in Scopus?
Search the journal title or ISSN in Scopus Sources (scopus.com/sources) or Elsevier's downloadable source title list, and check that coverage is current and not discontinued. Compare the ISSN, publisher and website with the journal you are looking at, because hijacked clone sites copy real journals' details.
