URBANISM MEETS ART : The Web of Science

The Web of Science Core Collection curation stands apart through its commitment to objectivity, selectivity and collection dynamics, enforced by an independent team of in-house editors unaligned with any publisher or research institution. This structure eliminates conflicts of interest inherent in algorithmic or community-delegated models employed elsewhere. Publishers submit titles via the dedicated Publisher Portal on the Master Journal List platform, where free registration enables access to submission tools, status tracking and detailed journal profiles. Only publishers hold submission rights, underscoring Clarivate's emphasis on institutional accountability. Once lodged, journals enter a multi-stage editorial assessment that begins with initial triage—reviewing basic eligibility such as ISSN registration, consistent publication schedule, English abstracts for global reach, Roman-script references and a transparent ethics/malpractice statement prominently displayed online. Failure at this gate precludes deeper evaluation, reflecting the process's foundational insistence on bibliographic integrity as a non-negotiable precondition for scholarly legitimacy. Recent adjustments have maintained selectivity even as submission volumes rise, with periodic updates (e.g., January and February 2026) adding new ESCI titles while removing underperformers to preserve database quality.

Ascending to full editorial evaluation, journals face a unified set of 28 criteria rigorously applied without exception. The first 24 target editorial rigour and publishing best practice at the journal level: these encompass a coherent editorial concept, transparent peer-review processes (with preference for double-blind in many domains), international diversity in editorial boards and authorship to ensure broad scholarly dialogue, adequate representation of authors' publication histories within Web of Science, appropriate citation networks aligned to the discipline, methodological soundness in published content, clarity of abstracts and readability of articles, adherence to ethical standards including plagiarism safeguards and conflict-of-interest disclosures, timely issue release without unexplained delays, and professional online presentation. Content must demonstrably advance the field through original contribution rather than redundancy, while editorial oversight ensures consistency and avoidance of predatory indicators such as guaranteed acceptance or excessively rapid review cycles. Journals satisfying these quality thresholds gain inclusion in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), a recognised entry point that signals baseline compliance and opens pathways to citation tracking without immediate flagship status. ESCI placement itself confers visibility benefits—articles become discoverable and citable within the Web of Science ecosystem—yet it remains provisional, subject to ongoing re-evaluation.

The decisive ascent to flagship indices—Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) or Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)—hinges on four impact criteria that prioritise citation activity as the core indicator of influence. These assess whether the journal attracts meaningful citations relative to field peers, exhibits comparative citation strength through analyses of author networks and editorial board members (EBM), demonstrates content significance via integration into broader literature, and maintains velocity in citation accrual. Impact evaluation activates only after quality confirmation and often occurs dynamically: ESCI journals undergo automatic re-assessment when citation patterns suggest potential eligibility, irrespective of elapsed time since prior review. Upward movement rewards genuine scholarly resonance rather than volume alone; conversely, declining impact can prompt demotion back to ESCI, while persistent quality failures trigger outright removal under Clarivate's Removal from Coverage policy. This tiered architecture—quality first, impact second—ensures flagship collections represent the most influential outlets in their domains, aligning with Garfield’s Law of Concentration whereby a compact core of journals accounts for the preponderance of cited literature.

Strategic imperatives for journals pursuing Web of Science indexing in 2026 mirror the infrastructural orchestration central to stratified epistemic production. Editors must institutionalise transparent peer-review workflows, diversify governance geographically and disciplinarily, prioritise methodological transparency and originality in content, and foster dissemination that cultivates organic citations—through open-access options where viable, repository deposition of versions, and metadata optimisation for discoverability. Regularity assumes paramount importance: consistent issue cadence prevents performance flags during annual monitoring. Ethical adherence proves non-negotiable amid heightened scrutiny of anomalous patterns, paper mills and integrity breaches; violations invite swift deselection, as evidenced by periodic removals across updates. For emerging titles, accumulating stable output over two or more years often bolsters applications by providing richer evaluable material, even as Clarivate permits earlier submission with sufficient samples. Post-indexing vigilance remains essential—journals must treat inclusion as revocable privilege requiring perpetual maintenance of standards rather than permanent achievement. Researchers seeking WoS-indexed venues should verify status directly via the Master Journal List, cross-referencing against predatory indicators, and align submissions with outlets exhibiting enduring compliance.

In essence, Web of Science indexing embodies a codified selectivity apparatus wherein publisher-neutral expertise filters for enduring scholarly value through layered criteria that privilege quality infrastructure before rewarding impact resonance. The pathway—from triage and quality vetting to impact-driven flagship ascent—demands systemic alignment across editorial, ethical and citational dimensions, transforming isolated publication efforts into resilient participation within one of academia's most authoritative citation ecosystems. Far from bureaucratic hurdle, this process enforces the infrastructural literacy necessary for epistemic sovereignty in an era of informational proliferation and integrity challenges.

Lloveras, A. (2026) 'The Stratified Republic of Letters', Socioplastics. Available at: https://antolloveras.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-stratified-republic-of-letters.html (Accessed: 20 February 2026).

Lloveras, A. (2026) Socioplastics