Significant and growing engagement with published research in lower quartiles
Further analysis of Springer Nature’s usage data indicates significant global engagement with Q3 and Q4 journals, countering the misconception that their research is less relevant or widely used compared with higher impact journals. This highlights the limitations of over-relying on JIFs as the sole measure of a journal.
Q3 and Q4 journals represented 22% of usage for Springer Nature titles in 2023,12 including both licensed downloads and non-licensed access requests.
This level of engagement challenges the assumption that only Q1 and Q2 journals attract attention.
12 Excluding Nature Portfolio titles.
The high usage of Q3 and Q4 journals also acknowledges the importance of the foundational research often published in these journals, including experimental design, more detailed protocols, or null results, which act as building blocks to other more significant research studies. The high engagement indicated through article usage shows how these articles are essential to informing ongoing work at the lab bench and beyond.
Usage data also shows that the readership of Q3 and Q4 journals is growing at a faster pace than that of Q1 and Q2 journals. In 2023, the average year-on-year usage growth for Springer Nature’s Q3 and Q4 journals was 27%, compared with 17% for Q1 and Q2 journals. This higher growth rate suggests that Q3 and Q4 journals are seeing increased engagement over time, reinforcing their importance to diverse communities globally.
Additionally, there is demand for Q3 and Q4 journal content from high research-producing countries, further dispelling any notion that these journals lack relevance (Fig.3). In 2023, countries with the highest levels of usage (including downloads and non-licensed access attempts) included China, the United States, India, Germany, and the United Kingdom. This underscores the broad international interest in research published in lower-quartile journals.
Figure 3: Usage of Q3 and Q4 journals by country (year: 2023)
Size shows Grand Total of the No licenses (Non-Licensed Access Attempts) and Total Item Requests. Title No filter keeps 1023 members. The view is filtered on Cal Year and IP Country. The Cal Year filter keeps 2023. The IP Country filter keeps 12 members.
Size shows Grand Total of the No licenses (Non-Licensed Access Attempts) and Total Item Requests. Title No filter keeps 1023 members. The view is filtered on Cal Year and IP Country. The Cal Year filter keeps 2023. The IP Country filter keeps 12 members.
Table 2: Usage of Q3 and Q4 journals by country (year: 2023)
|
IP Country |
No Licenses |
Total Item Requests |
Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|
|
China |
163,654,140 |
71,891,022 |
235,545,162 |
|
United States |
42,501,024 |
39,416,417 |
81,917,441 |
|
India |
12,668,934 |
19,401,437 |
32,070,371 |
|
Germany |
9,783,491 |
17,618,684 |
27,402,175 |
|
United Kingdom |
4,513,029 |
10,041,670 |
14,554,699 |
|
Ireland |
7,809,858 |
2,242,600 |
10,052,458 |
|
Japan |
3,212,859 |
5,666,830 |
8,879,689 |
|
Hong Kong |
4,265,011 |
3,839,561 |
8,104,572 |
|
Canada |
2,203,706 |
4,476,792 |
6,680,498 |
|
Australia |
1,535,408 |
5,026,185 |
6,561,593 |
|
South Korea |
2,522,829 |
3,876,223 |
6,399,052 |
|
France |
3,471,289 |
2,793,436 |
6,264,725 |
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