How to check the journal impact factor of a journal?

Checking a journal's Impact Factor (IF) involves using specific academic databases that compile this metric annually, primarily derived from citation data within the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) maintained by Clarivate Analytics. The Impact Factor is a proprietary metric calculated annually based on citation data from journals indexed within the Web of Science Core Collection. Access to the official JCR requires a paid subscription, typically provided through institutional libraries like universities. Key prerequisites are institutional authentication and navigating to the JCR platform. Alternatives exist, such as CiteScore (from Scopus) or SJR (Scimago Journal Rank), which use different databases and methodologies but serve a similar purpose. Verify the exact metric source when consulting impact measures. To find the current IF using Journal Citation Reports, log in via your institution's library portal. Navigate to the JCR platform. Search for the target journal by title or ISSN. Select the relevant year's edition (JCR is released annually mid-year). The journal's profile page will display its official Impact Factor for that year and potentially previous years. For other databases, search the journal within platforms like Scopus (for CiteScore) or Scimago Journal & Country Rank.