Frequently asked questions
Plain-English answers about how JCF Labs actually works — never a marketing claim, and never a guess.
Journals
What does “Indexed” mean?
It means JCF has recorded evidence — from that specific provider’s own published data (Scopus, DOAJ, MEDLINE, PMC, Embase, and others) — that this journal is included in it.
What does “Unknown” mean?
It means JCF has no evidence either way for that service. Unknown is not the same as “No” or “Not indexed” — it only means JCF hasn’t been able to confirm a status from the sources it currently imports.
How often is journal information updated?
Journal data reflects the last time JCF ran its own import process across its connected providers — it is not a live, continuously-updated feed. JCF Labs’ internal Data Health page tracks exactly how recently each provider dataset was last imported.
Why might JCF and another database show different information?
Providers don’t always agree with each other, and JCF doesn’t silently pick a winner when they don’t. When two of JCF’s own sources genuinely disagree about a journal, the page says so directly (“Sources disagree”) and shows both pieces of evidence side by side.
Does JCF decide which journals are indexed?
No. JCF is not an indexing authority and makes no independent indexing decisions. Every indexing status shown is a report of what that provider’s own published data says — never JCF’s own judgment.
What is Journal Compare?
A tool for comparing indexing status, publication activity, and other journal intelligence for several journals side by side, so you don’t have to open each profile separately.
Opportunities
Where do opportunities come from?
A mix of trusted external sources JCF monitors and opportunities entered directly by JCF staff. Every opportunity — automated or manual — goes through the same review step before it’s published.
How do I apply?
Use the official application link shown on the listing. JCF Labs is not the employer or funder for any opportunity it lists, and does not process applications itself.
Does JCF employ the people/jobs listed?
No. JCF Labs only lists opportunities published by other institutions, employers, and funders.
How are deadlines handled?
If a source doesn’t clearly state a deadline, JCF leaves it blank rather than guessing one. A blank deadline can mean “open until filled” or simply that no date was stated — check the official posting to confirm.
What if the official posting changes?
JCF does not continuously re-check every listing in real time. If a posting has since changed, closed, or been filled, the official application page is always the authoritative source — not the JCF listing.
Tools
Are files uploaded to JCF?
For most tools, no. Every manuscript/submission tool (Table Converter, CSV Cleaner, Reference Duplicate Finder, Abstract Checker, Manuscript Compare, Figure Size Checker, Reviewer Response Builder) and every PDF tool (Merge, Split/Extract, Rotate/Reorder, JPG/PNG ↔ PDF, Add Text to PDF, Sign PDF, Certificate Generator) runs entirely inside your own browser — your file is never sent to a JCF server.
Only the identifier lookups (DOI Lookup, DOI Validator, PMID Lookup, Citation Generator, ISSN Validator, Journal Resolver, Journal Indexing Checker) check JCF’s own data, and only make a bounded outside request when needed for the one identifier you gave.
Is Sign PDF a cryptographic digital signature?
No — it adds a visible signature (drawn, typed, or an uploaded image) onto the PDF’s pages. It is not a cryptographic identity signature and carries no legal-signature guarantee.
What does Abstract Checker check?
Structural and basic text characteristics — word count and common submission-readiness facts. It does not, and cannot, judge whether the underlying research is scientifically correct.
Certificates
Generated vs Issued vs Verified vs Revoked — what's the difference?
Issued means a JCF staff admin created the certificate record — this is the trust-bearing event.
Generated refers only to the PDF document itself, which is a separate, secondary step — a certificate can be validly issued even if its PDF hasn’t been generated yet (staff can retry generating it later without changing the certificate’s content).
Verified isn’t a stored status — it’s what happens live at the /verify page when a verification code or QR code is looked up and confirmed against the current record.
Revoked is a one-way status change from valid, never a deletion — a revoked certificate stays on record permanently, and there is no “un-revoke.”
Media
Who publishes JCF Media?
JCF Media is a staff-controlled newsroom. Only JCF newsroom staff — Reporters, Editors, Managing Editors, and Media Admins — can create, edit, or publish content.
Can external researchers publish directly?
No. JCF Media is not an author or contributor platform. An interview subject, for example, is interviewed and written up by JCF staff — they do not have their own publishing account.
How are corrections handled?
A published item can carry a correction note, shown publicly as “Updated / Corrected,” added by staff after the fact — corrections are disclosed, never made silently.
Accounts
What is the JCF Labs researcher account beta?
JCF Labs is trialling a small, invite-only beta for a public researcher account — currently limited to saving journals you want to find again later. It is not open to general sign-up yet.
There is no payment, subscription, or paid plan of any kind today, and no promise about future pricing — that will be decided and communicated separately if it ever happens.
JCF Corp / JCF Labs
What is the relationship between JCF Labs and JCF Corp?
JCF Labs (this site) is a technology initiative of JCF Corp, its parent company. JCF Corp separately offers consulting services — editorial support and journal advisory — through its own corporate site, distinct from the tools and data on JCF Labs.