[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fxLN3MUwXCdr5RPjwZYIDpOj8CHyjOmngWTgoKXPtZbg":3,"$fO-UpDFD3xavPzwG6c9nllznii9pmUfT5Sn5kfvbtmLg":32,"$f3Ft0rKFJHppdzE-vuveecxx1BUcg9iOlMLtyzf_MJDg":48},[4,8,12,16,20,24,28],{"title":5,"slug":6,"path":7},"About Microbeonline.com","about-microbeonline-com","\u002Fabout-microbeonline-com\u002F",{"title":9,"slug":10,"path":11},"About Me","about-me","\u002Fabout-microbeonline-com\u002Fabout-me\u002F",{"title":13,"slug":14,"path":15},"Advertise with Us","advertise-us","\u002Fadvertise-us\u002F",{"title":17,"slug":18,"path":19},"Privacy Policy","privacy-policy","\u002Fprivacy-policy\u002F",{"title":21,"slug":22,"path":23},"Abbreviations","abbreviations","\u002Fabbreviations\u002F",{"title":25,"slug":26,"path":27},"Microbes","microbes","\u002Fmicrobes\u002F",{"title":29,"slug":30,"path":31},"Books","recommended-books","\u002Frecommended-books\u002F",{"type":33,"data":34},"blog",{"slug":35,"title":36,"description":36,"seoTitle":37,"seoDescription":37,"author":38,"createdDate":39,"lastUpdatedDate":40,"draft":41,"category":42,"image":43,"body":44,"faq":45,"tags":46,"related":47},"microbiology-journals-and-their-impact-factors","Microbiology Journals and Their Impact Factors",null,"Acharya Tankeshwar","2021-11-21","2026-07-06",false,"science-communication","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.microbeonline.com\u002Fblogs\u002Fmicrobiology-journals-and-their-impact-factor.png","Impact factor (IF) is a measure of the frequency with which the average article in a journal has been cited in a particular year. It is used to sort or rank journals by their relative importance. It is assumed that journals with high IF publish articles that are cited more often than journals with lower IF.\n\nThe most notable source for journal impact factors is the annual publication called the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) published by Thomson Scientific. Among Microbiology journals, Nature Reviews Microbiology has the highest impact factor of 60.63 in 2020.\n\nSome journals do not consider the Impact Factor to be a reliable or useful metric to assess the performance of individual articles and do not promote impact factors. For example, PLOS supports DORA – the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – and does not promote our journal Impact Factors.\n\n## Calculation of Impact Factor\n\nThomson defines impact factor as, “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.\n\nA journal’s impact factor for 2020 would be calculated by taking the number of citations in 2020 to articles that were published in 2019 and 2018 and dividing that number by the total number of articles published in that same journal in 2019 and 2018.\n\n> For example;The number of cites in a journal named X in 2020 to items published in 2019 and 2018 are 1286 and 1134 respectively. Cites to recent items = cites in 2019 + cites in 2018 = 1286+ 1134 = 2420The number of articles published in that journal in the same period is 61 in 2019 and 59 in 2018.Number of recent items = 61+ 59 = 120Impact Factor = Cites to recent items\u002F Number of recent items = 2420\u002F120 = 20.16In that case, the impact factor of journal X in 2020 is 20.16.\n\n**2-year Journal Impact Factor:** The Journal Impact Factor is defined as all citations to the journal in the current JCR year to items published in the previous two years, divided by the total number of scholarly items (these comprise articles, reviews, and proceedings papers) published in the journal in the previous two years.\n\nAn Impact Factor of 1.0 means that, on average, the articles published one or two year ago have been cited one time. An Impact Factor of 2.5 means that, on average, the articles published one or two year ago have been cited two and a half times. Citing articles may be from the same journal; most citing articles are from different journals\n\n**5-year Impact Factor:** The 5-year journal Impact Factor is the average number of times articles from the journal published in the past five years have been cited in the JCR year. It is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the five previous years.\n\n## Uses\n\n- Authors use impact factors to decide where to submit their research article for publication.\n- Libraries use impact factors to make collection development decisions\n- Academic departments use impact factors to assess academic productivity and to make decisions on promotion & tenure of faculties.\n\n## Some Microbiology Journals and their Impact Factors in 2020\n\n| S.N | Name of Journal | 2 year Impact Factor |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| 1 | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 60.633 |\n| 2 | Cell Host and Microbe | 21.02 |\n| 3 | Annual Review of Microbiology | 15.5 |\n| 4 | Nature Microbiology | 17.74 |\n| 5 | Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews | 14.17 |\n| 6 | FEMS Microbiology Reviews | 16.41 |\n| 7 | Microbiome | 13.61 |\n| 8 | Trends in Microbiology | 17.079 |\n| 9 | ISME Journal | 10.3 |\n| 10 | PLoS Pathogens | Does not promote IF |\n| 11 | Current Opinion in Microbiology | 7.934 |\n| 12 | mBio | 7.867 |\n| 13 | Gut Microbes | 10.245 |\n| 14 | mSystems | 6.49 |\n| 15 | Soil Biology and Biochemistry | 5.29 |\n| 16 | Journal of Virology | 4.501 |\n| 17 | EcoSal Plus | 6.69 |\n| 18 | Microbial genomics | 5.237 |\n| 19 | Emerging Microbes and Infections | 5.842 |\n| 20 | npj Biofilms and Microbiomes | 6.769 |\n| 21 | Virus Evolution | 7.989 |\n| 22 | Critical Reviews in Microbiology | 7.349 |\n| 23 | Biology and Fertility of Soils | 5.85 |\n| 24 | Epidemics | 3.239 |\n| 25 | Environmental Microbiology | 4.933 |\n| 26 | Virulence | 5.542 |\n| 27 | Molecular Microbiology | 3.816 |\n| 28 | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology | 4.3 |\n| 30 | Frontiers in Microbiology | 5.64 |\n| 31 | Journal of Bacteriology | 3.219 |",[],[],[],[49,55,62,67,71,75,80,85,89,93],{"slug":50,"name":38,"description":51,"image":52,"body":53,"postCount":54},"acharya-tankeshwar","Editor-in-chief","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.microbeonline.com\u002Fauthors\u002Ftankeshwar-acharya-author-microbeonline.jpg","***Tankeshwar Acharya, MSc (Medical Microbiology)***\n\n*Tankeshwar Acharya is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), Nepal, where he has been teaching and practicing clinical microbiology for over 14 years. He is the founder of Microbe Online, one of the leading free microbiology education resources on the web, covering bacteriology, mycology, parasitology, immunology, and clinical laboratory diagnostics written from direct experience in both the classroom and the diagnostic laboratory.*",433,{"slug":56,"name":57,"description":58,"image":59,"body":60,"postCount":61},"ashma-shrestha","Ashma Shrestha","SEO Copywriter and Science Communicator\nKathmandu, Nepal","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.microbeonline.com\u002Fauthors\u002Fashma-shrestha.png","Ashma Shrestha holds a Master of Science in Medical Microbiology from the Institute of Science and Technology (IOST), Tribhuvan University, Nepal, where she developed a strong foundation in virology, molecular biology, and diagnostic microbiology.\n\nShe now works as an SEO Copywriter at Resolution Digital, where she combines her scientific training with research-driven content strategy. She is certified in Google Analytics and Google Business Profile (GBP), and brings a data-informed approach to science communication writing content that is not only accurate but structured to reach and serve the students who need it most.\n\nAt microbeonline, Ashma contributes articles primarily in virology and molecular biology, areas she finds most compelling for their mechanistic depth and their growing clinical relevance. Her writing reflects the same standard the site is built on: factual rigor, clear explanation of the *why* behind microbiology concepts, and content that helps students move from memorization to genuine understanding.\n\nShe is passionate about making complex microbiological concepts accessible without sacrificing accuracy; a skill that sits at the intersection of her scientific training and her professional work in content and SEO.",81,{"slug":63,"name":64,"description":65,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":66},"sushmita-baniya","Sushmita Baniya","Author \u002F Contributor",32,{"slug":68,"name":69,"description":65,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":70},"samikshya-acharya","Samikshya Acharya",20,{"slug":72,"name":73,"description":65,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":74},"alisha-tripathi","Alisha Tripathi",6,{"slug":76,"name":77,"description":78,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":79},"aastha-shrestha","Aastha Shrestha"," Author \u002F Contributor",9,{"slug":81,"name":82,"description":83,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":84},"guest-author","Guest Author","Guest Author \u002F Contributor",2,{"slug":86,"name":87,"description":65,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":88},"srijana-khanal","Srijana Khanal",18,{"slug":90,"name":91,"description":83,"image":37,"body":37,"postCount":92},"dr-poonam-acharya","Dr. Poonam Acharya",1,{"slug":94,"name":95,"description":65,"image":37,"body":96,"postCount":97},"nisha-rijal","Nisha Rijal","**Nisha Rijal** is a microbiologist and quality assurance specialist. She served for nearly 12 years as a microbiologist at the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), Nepal's national reference laboratory, and continues to work as a consultant microbiologist in international public health organization. ",51]