Article publication and indexing in Scopus

In detail

One of the most common mistakes is to think that if an article has already appeared on the journal website, then it is already in Scopus. In practice, there is a difference between these stages.

Publication of an article

This is what the journal or publisher does: accepts the article, formats it, places it online, assigns it to an issue, or publishes it as the version of record.

Indexing of the article

This is the next stage: the publisher transfers metadata, the record is processed in the database, and the article becomes visible in Scopus search and analytics.

Because of this, delays may occur

• even if the article is already published, it may not yet appear in the database;
• it may appear later;
• it may be in the database but not attached to the correct author profile.

The delay depends on

• the publisher’s workflow speed;
• the quality of the metadata;
• journal-specific features;
• the internal data processing cycle.

What is important to remember

Publication of an article is an action by the journal. Indexing in Scopus is a separate stage that may occur later.