Citation Visibility Index
CVI measures whether a journal's citations are open, machine-readable, and tracked by open scholarly infrastructure. It uses only open citation data — no proprietary citation counts from Web of Science, Scopus, or similar services. Inside the PQF formula this same figure is labeled the Citation Visibility Factor (CVF); CVI is its standalone name when published on this page.
CVI Scoring Criteria
| # | Criterion | Data Source | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crossref cited-by data detectable | Journal articles appear in Crossref cited-by API results | 2 |
| 2 | OpenAlex source record exists and matchable | Journal matched to an OpenAlex Source record (ISSN-based) | 2 |
| 3 | OpenCitations data detectable | Live — checked via OpenCitations COCI citation-count API | 2 |
| 4 | Open reference lists deposited via I4OC (Crossref) | References publicly accessible under open license (CC0) | 2 |
| 5 | Citation data source clearly attributed in article page | Citation source identified and accessible to readers | 2 |
| Total (CVF subfactor) | 10 | ||
Citation Data Sources
Open Citation Principles
Open Data Only
CVI uses exclusively open, CC0-licensed citation data. No proprietary citation databases (Web of Science, Scopus) are used in any part of POSI scoring.
Attribution Required
All citation data shown on POSI is attributed to its original source (Crossref, OpenAlex). POSI does not claim ownership of citation records.
Not Impact
CVI measures infrastructure participation, not academic quality. A journal scoring 10/10 CVI may have zero citations; a highly-cited journal may score 0 if citations are not open.
I4OC Compliance
POSI checks whether journals participate in the Initiative for Open Citations (I4OC) by depositing reference lists with Crossref under CC0. This enables open citation graphs.