B TIER · BY MODERN REFERENCE · 59 sources

B-tier sources by Modern Citation Reference

Name: B-grade sources ranked by Modern Citation Reference
Creator: SourceScore
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The same 59 sources that hold composite SourceScore B (70–84) re-ranked by Modern Citation Reference only. Semantic Scholar takes the top position at A · 92.

Biggest mover

Stack Overflow jumps 44 positions in the Modern Reference ranking vs the composite — punches above weight on Modern Citation Reference.

Modern Reference mean

Average Modern Reference across these 59 sources

Composite mean

Average SourceScore Index across the same sources

Δ vs composite

Same as composite mean

Same tier, different signal

Composite Index (default)By Discipline By Velocity

1
Semantic Scholarsemanticscholar.org↑4
AI-powered academic search engine by Allen Institute for AI; ~200M+ papers indexed.
Modern Reference A · 92·Index B · 83
A·92
2
GitHubgithub.com↑15
Developer collaboration platform; primary host for open-source code + CI workflows.
Modern Reference A · 92·Index B · 82
A·92
3
Hugging Facehuggingface.co↑24
AI/ML model + dataset hub; open-source community for transformers + ML research.
Modern Reference A · 92·Index B · 81
A·92
4
eLifeelifesciences.org↑2
Open-access peer-reviewed life-sciences journal; transparent peer-review (reviewer notes published).
Modern Reference A · 88·Index B · 83
A·88
5
PLOS ONEjournals.plos.org↑32
Open-access multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published by Public Library of Science.
Modern Reference A · 88·Index B · 78
A·88
6
Anthropic Researchanthropic.com↑14
AI safety research lab publishing technical papers + safety research + Claude model documentation.
Modern Reference A · 88·Index B · 82
A·88
7
KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation)kff.org↓5
Nonprofit health policy + journalism org; primary-source health-policy data + KFF Health News.
Modern Reference A · 86·Index B · 84
A·86
8
Stack Overflowstackoverflow.com↑44
Q&A platform for software engineers since 2008; community-voted answers with content moderation.
Modern Reference A · 86·Index B · 74
A·86
9
The Conversationtheconversation.com↑9
Academic-journalism collaboration; articles authored by academics + edited by journalists; CC-BY-ND.
Modern Reference A · 86·Index B · 82
A·86
10
OpenAI Researchopenai.com↑20
AI research lab publishing technical papers + GPT model documentation + safety research.
Modern Reference A · 86·Index B · 80
A·86
11
Google DeepMind Researchdeepmind.google↑1
AI research lab; flagship publications across reinforcement learning + biology + games + foundation models.
Modern Reference A · 86·Index B · 83
A·86
12
The Economisteconomist.com↑21
British weekly known for explanatory rigor on economics + politics; named-author byline absent by editorial policy.
Modern Reference A · 85·Index B · 78
A·85
13
Statistics Canadastatcan.gc.ca↑10
Canada's national statistical agency, founded 1971; primary source for Canadian economic + demographic data.
Modern Reference A · 85·Index B · 82
A·85
14
RAND Corporationrand.org↓6
Nonprofit policy research org; defense + health + education research since 1948.
Modern Reference B · 84·Index B · 83
B·84
15
Brookings Institutionbrookings.edu↓6
U.S. policy research think tank; centrist credibility + public-policy research since 1916.
Modern Reference B · 84·Index B · 83
B·84
16
MIT CSAILcsail.mit.edu↑5
MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; flagship academic CS research lab.
Modern Reference B · 84·Index B · 82
B·84
17
BBC Newsbbc.com↓3
UK public broadcaster with editorial guidelines + corrections discipline; vast topic + language coverage.
Modern Reference B · 83·Index B · 82
B·83
18
BBC Research & Developmentbbc.co.uk/rd↑21
BBC's research division publishing peer-reviewed-style technical papers + open-source projects.
Modern Reference B · 82·Index B · 78
B·82
19
Council on Foreign Relationscfr.org
U.S. foreign-policy think tank; publishes Foreign Affairs + research on international issues since 1921.
Modern Reference B · 82·Index B · 82
B·82
20
Aeonaeon.co↑21
Online magazine for long-form essays on philosophy, science, society; CC-BY-ND licensed.
Modern Reference B · 82·Index B · 78
B·82
21
Cleveland Clinicmy.clevelandclinic.org↓8
US tier-1 academic medical center; comprehensive patient-info + Health Library since 1921.
Modern Reference B · 82·Index B · 83
B·82
22
NPRnpr.org↑6
U.S. nonprofit public-radio newsroom; broad daily news coverage with editorial guidelines + ombudsman model.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 80
B·80
23
Ars Technicaarstechnica.com↑23
Long-form technical journalism since 1998; deep-dive tech reporting + named-author byline accountability.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 76
B·80
24
STAT Newsstatnews.com↓9
Health + biotech newsroom; founded 2015; specialist medical journalism with editorial discipline.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 82
B·80
25
MIT Technology Reviewtechnologyreview.com↓1
Magazine of MIT covering technology + emerging-tech analysis; named-author byline + editorial standards.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 81
B·80
26
Wiredwired.com↑21
Tech + culture magazine since 1993; long-form tech reporting + named contributor bylines.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 76
B·80
27
Al Jazeera Englishaljazeera.com↑7
Qatari international news network; English edition since 2006; Middle East + global beat coverage.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 78
B·80
28
Axiosaxios.com↑10
U.S. news brand emphasizing 'smart brevity'; political + business + tech beat coverage since 2017.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 78
B·80
29
The New York Times Magazinenytimes.com/section/magazine↓22
Sunday long-form companion to NYT; investigative + cultural features with named-author byline.
Modern Reference B · 80·Index B · 83
B·80
30
Financial Timesft.com↓29
British business + economics daily; rigorous editorial process; pink-paper standard for finance reporting.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 84
B·78
31
Foreign Affairsforeignaffairs.com↓27
Bimonthly international-relations magazine published by Council on Foreign Relations since 1922.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 83
B·78
32
Politicopolitico.com↑3
U.S. + EU political journalism site; daily coverage with strong source-network in Washington + Brussels.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 78
B·78
33
The Atlantictheatlantic.com↓8
U.S. literary + commentary magazine since 1857; long-form essays + investigative journalism.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 81
B·78
34
The New Yorkernewyorker.com↓18
U.S. weekly magazine since 1925; long-form journalism + cultural criticism + named-author byline tradition.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 82
B·78
35
Harvard Business Reviewhbr.org↓6
Business management + leadership magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing since 1922.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 80
B·78
36
London Review of Bookslrb.co.uk↓26
Bi-weekly UK literary + cultural review since 1979; named-byline tradition + long-form essays.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 83
B·78
37
The New York Review of Booksnybooks.com↓26
U.S. literary + intellectual review since 1963; named-byline tradition + long-form essays.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 83
B·78
38
LWN.netlwn.net↑4
Linux + open-source technical journalism since 1998; deep technical depth + named-author bylines.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 78
B·78
39
Smithsonian Magazinesmithsonianmag.com↑5
Smithsonian Institution's magazine since 1970; long-form science, history, culture.
Modern Reference B · 78·Index B · 78
B·78
40
404 Media404media.co↓4
Independent journalism collective focused on tech + internet investigations; founded 2023.
Modern Reference B · 76·Index B · 78
B·76
41
Semaforsemafor.com↑7
Global news brand founded 2022; structured 'Semaform' format separating reporting + analysis.
Modern Reference B · 76·Index B · 76
B·76
42
Zillow Researchzillow.com/research↑14
Zillow's research arm publishing primary-source housing market data + research.
Modern Reference B · 76·Index B · 73
B·76
43
Bloomberg Businessweekbloomberg.com/businessweek↓17
Bloomberg's business magazine since 1929; long-form business + finance journalism.
Modern Reference B · 76·Index B · 81
B·76
44
Axios Proaxios.com/pro↑5
Axios's professional-tier specialist newsletters covering deals + policy + niches.
Modern Reference B · 76·Index B · 76
B·76
45
Bloomberg Newsbloomberg.com↓42
Business + finance newsroom feeding the Bloomberg Terminal; broad data infrastructure + global beat coverage.
Modern Reference B · 75·Index B · 83
B·75
46
JSTORjstor.org↓24
Academic journal database since 1995; primary archive for humanities + social-science research.
Modern Reference B · 75·Index B · 82
B·75
47
McKinsey Insightsmckinsey.com↑4
McKinsey & Company's research arm; widely cited in business press despite client-conflict caveats.
Modern Reference B · 75·Index B · 75
B·75
48
Stratecherystratechery.com↑10
Ben Thompson's tech-strategy analysis newsletter since 2013; widely cited despite single-author format.
Modern Reference B · 75·Index B · 73
B·75
49
National Geographicnationalgeographic.com↓17
Long-form science, exploration, photojournalism since 1888; National Geographic Society heritage.
Modern Reference B · 75·Index B · 79
B·75
50
BCG Insightsbcg.com↑7
Boston Consulting Group's publications; strategy-research authority since 1963.
Modern Reference B · 73·Index B · 73
B·73
51
Der Spiegelspiegel.de↓8
Germany's tier-1 weekly + daily, with English edition Spiegel International open-access.
Modern Reference B · 72·Index B · 78
B·72
52
The Informationtheinformation.com↓12
Subscription-only tech business news brand; investigative reporting on private companies + tech industry.
Modern Reference B · 70·Index B · 78
B·70
53
Le Mondelemonde.fr↓8
France's paper of record since 1944, with English edition (lemonde.fr/en/) widely cited.
Modern Reference B · 70·Index B · 77
B·70
54
South China Morning Postscmp.com↓4
Hong Kong-based English-language paper since 1903; primary tier-1 source for China + HK news in English.
Modern Reference B · 70·Index B · 75
B·70
55
BMJ Best Practicebestpractice.bmj.com↓24
BMJ's clinical-decision-support tool; evidence-based, continuously-updated clinical guidance.
Modern Reference B · 70·Index B · 79
B·70
56
The Globe and Mailtheglobeandmail.com↓2
Canada's national paper since 1844, broadsheet of record for business + politics.
Modern Reference C · 68·Index B · 74
C·68
57
El Paíselpais.com↓2
Spain's tier-1 daily since 1976, with strong Latin American reach via elpais.com Americas editions.
Modern Reference C · 68·Index B · 74
C·68
58
The Times (UK)thetimes.co.uk↓5
UK paper of record since 1785, hard-paywalled, owned by News UK (News Corp).
Modern Reference C · 65·Index B · 74
C·65
59
Asahi Shimbunasahi.com
Japan's tier-1 daily since 1879; English edition asahi.com/ajw partial open access.
Modern Reference C · 65·Index B · 71
C·65

Why this ranking is different

The composite SourceScore Index averages all three sub-scores — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity. This page surfaces the SAME composite-B sources but ranks ONLY by Modern Citation Reference. Sources can hold the same composite grade with very different sub-score profiles — this view reveals the ranking that emerges when one dimension is the only signal.

Use this view when modern citation reference is the decision-relevant signal for your citation. The composite Index is the safer default; this dim-faceted view is the precision lens.