What does Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 mean for academic journals?

Quartiles divide journals in a subject category into four equal groups based on their citation rate or SJR score. Q1 contains the top 25% (highest impact), Q2 the next 25%, Q3 the third quartile, and Q4 the bottom 25%.

Is a Q1 journal always better than a Q2 journal?

Q1 journals have higher citation rates within their subject category, but 'better' depends on your research scope, audience, and field norms. Some specialized Q2 journals are more appropriate venues than broad Q1 journals.

How are these rankings calculated?

Rankings are derived from the latest citation rate data for each journal in our database. When official quartile data is available we use it directly; otherwise quartiles are computed by ranking journals within the selected subject category.

Journal Rankings 2026 — Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

Browse 18 ranked journals grouped into quartiles by citation rate. Use the subject filter below to narrow down by research field.

Data last refreshed: Jul 31, 2026

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Q1 — Top 25%

5 journals

Journal	IF
Alexandria Engineering Journal Elsevier BV	7.25
Case Studies in Thermal Engineering Elsevier BV	6.18
Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics Elsevier BV	4.46
International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow Elsevier BV	4.44
Chinese Journal of Aeronautics Elsevier BV	4.05

Q2 — 50th-75th Percentile

4 journals

Journal	IF
International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics Elsevier BV	3.58
Acta Mechanica Springer Science+Business Media	3.42
Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science Elsevier BV	2.75
Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and… Springer Science+Business Media	2.50

Q3 — 25th-50th Percentile

5 journals

Journal	IF
Computers & Fluids Elsevier BV	2.29
Experiments in Fluids Springer Science+Business Media	2.20
Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics Elsevier BV	2.19
Meccanica Springer Science+Business Media	2.14
International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids Wiley	1.66

Q4 — Bottom 25%

4 journals

Journal	IF
Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik und Physik Birkhäuser	1.55
Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics Isfahan University of Technology	0.95
Thermal Science Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences	0.79
Bulletin of the American Physical Society Cambridge University Press	—

Understanding Journal Quartile Rankings

Quartile rankings (Q1-Q4) are a standard way to categorize academic journals within a subject. They're calculated by ordering all journals in a category by their citation rate (or SJR score) and dividing them into four equal groups.

Q1 — Top 25%, highest impact in the field
Q2 — 50th to 75th percentile
Q3 — 25th to 50th percentile
Q4 — Bottom 25%

Note: When official Scopus/JCR quartile data is available we use it. Otherwise quartiles are approximated by ranking journals within the selected subject by their latest citation rate.