We are pleased to report that our mathematics journals have performed particularly well in this year’s Journal Impact Factors TM from Clarivate. The star performer is Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena (MMNP) which increased by 153% (from 1.642 to 4.157) having already increased by 73% last year. It is now ranked 13/108 in “Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications”, 6/265 in “Mathematics, Applied” and 10/58 in “Mathematical & Computational Biology” – all Q1 or the top 25% of the world’s most-cited journals. Indeed, every EDP Sciences maths journal indexed in Web of Science TM has received an increased impact factor contributing to an unprecedented year in which all eligible EDP Sciences journals increased.
MMNP is joined by:
ESAIM: Control, Optimisation and Calculus of Variations which increased by 37% and is now ranked 107/265 in Q2 of “Mathematics, Applied”. It is also ranked in “Automation & Control Systems”.
ESAIM: Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis which increased by 27% and is now ranked 97/265 in Q2 of “Mathematics, Applied”.
ESAIM: Probability and Statistics which increased by 45%.
RAIRO-Theoretical Informatics and Applications whichincreased by 215%.
RAIRO-Operations Research which increased by 36%.
We recognise that impact factors are but one way to measure ‘quality’ and would not usually highlight one metric alone. However, this year’s impact factors have thrown a spotlight on all these mathematics journals which are transitioning to open access under a Subscribe-to-Open (S2O) model recently endorsed by cOAlition S.
MMNP was the first mathematics journal in the world to adopt the S2O model last year and its archives were available in free access during 2020. We therefore believe S2O has likely contributed to its impressive increase. With the other maths journals following suit, it is hoped and expected that citations will continue to increase for these journals as long as they remain open access with the continued support of subscribers.
“We thank Vitaly Volpert, Editor-in-Chief, and the editorial team at MMNP as well as every author, peer reviewer and editor who has contributed to our maths journals,” commented Anne Ruimy, Senior Publisher, EDP Sciences. “Behind the scenes, a lot of work has taken place to develop the S2O programme with our partner SMAI to deliver a form of open access which does not rely on Article Processing Charges (APCs) and which allows authors to retain the copyright to their work. We look forward to reporting on the progress and results of this work in future.”
For a flavour of the articles which contributed to MMNP’s increase, see the two topical issues on fractional differential equations – “Fractional order mathematical models in physical sciences” and “Theory and applications of fractional differentiation”. The prominence of mathematical modelling throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and MMNP’s quick response to it in the form of the accelerated review and publication of papers for its special issue “Coronavirus: scientific insights and societal aspects” should stand it in good stead in terms of ongoing citations.
