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

Data last refreshed: Aug 01, 2026

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All Subjects Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies Human auditory perception and evaluation Plant and animal studies Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Medicine Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Immune Cell Function and Interaction Conducting polymers and applications Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth Geological and Geochemical Analysis Wildlife Ecology and Conservation earthquake and tectonic studies Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet RNA modifications and cancer Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Neural dynamics and brain function Advancements in Battery Materials Analytical Chemistry and Chromatography Catalytic Processes in Materials Science Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies Schizophrenia research and treatment Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins Meat and Animal Product Quality RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms T-cell and B-cell Immunology Cardiac Imaging and Diagnostics

Q1 — Top 25%

6 journals

Journal	IF
Current Opinion in Structural Biology Elsevier BV	7.54
Trends in Biochemical Sciences Elsevier BV	6.58
Trends in Genetics Elsevier BV	5.75
Communications Biology Nature Portfolio	5.25
Biomolecules Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute	4.97
Structure Elsevier BV	3.96

Q2 — 50th-75th Percentile

5 journals

Journal	IF
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences Frontiers Media	3.33
Methods Elsevier BV	3.21
BioEssays Wiley	3.11
Life Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute	3.05
FEBS Journal Wiley	2.85

Q3 — 25th-50th Percentile

6 journals

Journal	IF
Molecular Microbiology Wiley	2.74
Journal of Molecular Evolution Springer Science+Business Media	2.63
Biochimie Elsevier BV	2.58
ChemBioChem Wiley	2.31
Biopolymers Wiley	2.16
IUBMB Life Wiley	2.15

Q4 — Bottom 25%

5 journals

Journal	IF
Biosystems Elsevier BV	2.10
Protein Expression and Purification Elsevier BV	1.58
Yeast Wiley	1.35
BioTechniques Future Science Ltd	1.32
Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography Wiley	—

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.