Database of the Month: Journal Citation Reports (JCR)

Anyone who has ever submitted an article for publication in an academic journal has no doubt heard the phrase “impact factor”, but do you know what an impact factor is, how it is calculated, and where you can go to find a journal’s impact factor?  The Journal Citation Reports (JCR) answers those questions. JCR calculates and provides the impact factor for thousands of scholarly journals, helping you identify the top-tier journals in your field.

Understanding & Using Journal Impact Factor

JCR allows you to evaluate and compare journals using citation data drawn from 9,100 scholarly and technical journals from more than 2,200 publishers in over 78 countries. It includes all areas of science, technology, and social sciences.  JCR is published in two editions – JCR Science Edition and JCR Social Sciences Edition. JCR complements the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Science Citation Index (SCI) databases.

Authors can use impact factor to identify the most appropriate, influential journals in which to publish, while students and researchers may use impact factor to discover the most important journals in a field.

“The journal Impact Factor is the average number of times articles from the journal published in the past two years have been cited in the JCR year. The Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years.”

A screenshot from the JCR

Other Metrics Included in JCR

JCR also includes the following impact and influence metrics:

  • Eigenfactor score (a measure of the overall value provided by all of the articles published in a given journal in a year)
  • Article Influence score (a measure of a journal’s prestige based on per article citations and comparable to Impact Factor)
  • Most highly cited journal in a field

More information about Impact factor, Eigenfactor and Article Influence scores can be found in the Help section of the JCR database.  For a great explanation of what the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is and is not, I recommend reading

Holsapple, C. W. (2009). Journal Self-Citation II: The Quest for High Impact — Truth and Consequences?. Communications of AIS, 25, 11-19.

Connect to This Database

Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is included in the Library’s ISI Web of Knowledge subscription databases – Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Science Citation Index (SCI).  Access JCR here, or by selecting Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) or Science Citation Index (SCI) from the Databases page. Once in SSCI or SCI, click on the “Additional Resources” tab to get to the JCR Collections.

For additional faculty resources, see Nick Albaugh’s Publishing Resources for Faculty library research guide.

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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Leadership Books Now On Display

In one of the top 100 best business books of all time, The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes wrote:

“Leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance. Leadership is an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us.”

For our new display we’ve hand-selected several books and audiobooks providing theories and examples of leadership. Included in our picks you’ll find words of wisdom from business gurus, coaches, mentors, politicians and soldiers. Swing by and take a look.

Interested in finding more?  The library has an extensive collection of leadership books, audiobooks and e-books. A librarian is happy to help you find what you need, or you can search the library catalog for the subject “Leadership“.

FASB Accounting Standards Codification

Know Your Code

The FASB Accounting Standards Codification is the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP).  The Codification is available within Accounting Research Manager (CCH), but the Library also subscribes to it as a stand-alone site.

As indicated on the screen shot below, there are three features of particular note about the FASB Accounting Standards Codification Site.  They are:

  1. The “What’s New” area helps you keep track of the latest changes in the Codification. You can view what’s new by date, by topic or by document.
  2. The “Cross Reference” area will direct you to a section of the Codification when you have an older accounting reference. If you find a mention of a previous accounting standard, such as a FASB Statement (FAS) or a Statement of Position (SOP), in an article or textbook, use the Cross Reference area to get directed to the current section of interest in the Codification. The Cross Reference area is also useful for quickly navigating to a section of the Codification  when you have a document number such as 926-20-25-4.
  3. The “Notice to Constituents” provides information that will help you understand the Codification’s structure, content, style and history and provides excellent guidance on how to reference the Codification in financial reports and from within the text of a research paper.

Structure of the Code

The Codification’s classification system is significantly different from the structure of previous accounting standards. The structure is as follows:

Topic SubTopic Section Paragraph
Entertainment-Films Other Assets-Film Costs Recognition General-Overall Deals
926 20 25 4

Citing the Code

One question we get at the Reference Desk, quite a lot actually, is “How do I cite the Codification in my bibliography?”. Since inquiring minds want to know, the following is my interpretation of how the Codification would appear using:

APA Format

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). (2010). Accounting standards codification TM. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Retrieved from http://asc.fasb.org/

MLA Format

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards Codification TM. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), 2010. Web. 4 Nov. 2010.

RefWorks Users:

If you use Refworks, here is an example of how to fill out the fields when you “Add a New Reference” to your account.

Ref Type: Generic
Source Type: Electronic
Output Language: Unknown
Authors, Primary: Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
Title, Primary: Accounting Standards Codification TM
Pub Year: 2010
Publisher: Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
Links: http://asc.fasb.org/
Retrieved Date: 4 Nov. 2010 (MLA) (APA doesn’t require a retrieved date for this type of source)

***Please, always double check with your professor when referencing your sources.***

Connect to this database:

Please visit FASB Codification to explore this resource further, or visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.

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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: IBISWorld Business Environment Reports

A few months ago we profiled IBISWorld’s Industry Market Research Reports, but IBISWorld has even more to offer!  The Library’s subscription to IBISWorld also provides access to their Business Environment Reports and Business Environment Monitor Reports.

Click to View this Report

Description & Key Features:

IBISWorld’s Business Environment Reports offer data and analysis that give context to companies, industries, and the U.S. economy.   IBIS uses an “outside-looking-in” approach to explain how economic, demographic and other changes impact on people, enterprises and commerce.  These reports contain interesting and hard-to-find economic facts and figures.

Business Environment Research Reports center around 7 environments – Consumer Behavior & Attitudes, Developed & Natural Resources, Domestic Economy & External Accounts, Financial Market, Goods and Services Prices, International Economy & Commodities, and Labor & Demographics.  Business Environment Research Reports are available as brief reports (3-4 pages) on around 300 key Business Environment indicators, and include such topics as:

IBISWorld’s Business Environment Monitor Reports provide an overview of the U. S. economy. Each report provides data and analysis from six related Business Environment elements and presents both the historical trend and a 5-year forecast period.  Data tables can be downloaded into Excel.

Connect to this Database:

Please visit IBISWorld to explore this valuable database further, or visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.
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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Money & Taxes: Books on Display

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”
~ Albert Einstein

“Money often costs too much.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the spirit of the season…tax season that is…we have pulled together a selection of books, DVDs and audiobooks about taxes, monetary and taxation policies, and the history of money.   This display presents general interest and scholarly works from the fields of economics, finance, history, law, and philosophy, and includes areas of current  research that will be of interest to the Bentley community.

From Charles Rossotti’s behind the scenes tale of the IRS in Many Unhappy Returns: One Man’s Quest to Turn Around the Most Unpopular Organization in America, to Lauren Weber’s intriguing socioeconomic chronicle of the history of American frugality in In Cheap We Trust: The Misunderstood American Virtue, to the award-winning documentary Maxed Out, we’re highlighting an eclectic selection of titles.

Please take a moment to stop by, browse and borrow.

New & Improved CCH IntelliConnect

CCH Tax Research Network & OmniTax are now combined as CCH IntelliConnect.
What are the key features of IntelliConnect?

  • Intuitive and innovative research capabilities: IntelliConnect is easy to learn and use with its simple, modern interface. Everything is accessible from one screen.
  • Easy searching and browsing: Use either or both Search or Browse to find desired information or documents. To begin a search, simply type in your search term — there’s no need to pre-select what publications to search.
  • IntelliConnect rapidly searches all the content in your subscription so you don’t miss important documents.
  • Multiple searches saved in tab format: Never lose your place while you work!
  • Search within a search for refined results: Easily refine results by conducting a search within a set of search results.