Between 2007 and 2009 Thomson Reuters started to accept journals beyond the international high-impact literature, and included 1,600 regional journals in Web of Science (WoS). The study sets out to analyze the effect on countries that in terms of absolute article numbers profited most from the inclusion process. The comparison of a country’s newly included journals with those in existence in WoS before 2007, and the distinction of articles according to their origin (local, networked or external) allows to detect various effects. The reception of these two sets of journal articles is likewise distinguished by the origin of the recipients. Results show that some countries suffered a loss in international visibility and are now represented in WoS more locally oriented than before the altered journal selection process. Other countries experienced a growth in external citations as well as publications from international authors, being everything but regional.
Keywords: Regional journals, Coverage, Productivity, Web of Science.
