Different tools for different jobs:

  • CORE ranks computing conferences (A* to C). Use it for CS venues, where conferences are the primary publication channel.
  • Journal Impact Factor (Clarivate JCR) measures average citations per paper over two years. Use it for journals, in every field.

Trust neither blindly. CORE A* tells you a venue is selective, not that your paper belongs there. A 56.1 impact factor tells you Nature papers get cited, not that yours will be.

Known distortions: impact factors inflate in review-heavy journals and hot fields; CORE undervalues new venues that have not been ranked yet. Interdisciplinary work gets punished by both systems. Sources: IEEE, ACM Practical rule: in CS, hiring and tenure committees read CORE; in most other fields, they read JIF quartiles. Match your venue strategy to the committee that will judge you, and keep a spreadsheet of both metrics for every venue you consider.

Journals and conferences serve different purposes: conferences for speed, journals for archival depth.