The effect of a two-stage publication process on the Journal Impact Factor: a case study on the interactive open access journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Taking the interactive open access journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics as an example, this study examines whether Thomson Reuters, for the Journal Citation Reports, correctly calculates the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of a journal that publishes several versions of a manuscript within a two-stage publication process. The results of this study show that the JIF of the journal is not overestimated through the two-stage publication process.