Other ERA Resources: Who is citing me? | Research Leaders | Using Journal Citation Reports | FAQ
On this page: What is a quality journal? | How to find peer reviewed journals | Assessing peer reviewed journals | Journal Selection
Research output is primarily communicated to peers and the community at large through journal articles, books and conference papers. The impact your research has is affected by where it is published. This page will address the following questions:
- Is the journal in which I am publishing a quality journal?
- How do I find out if the journal has an impact factor?
- How do I find out the relative ranking of the journal within a particular field?
What is a quality journal?
Quality journals are usually peer reviewed or refereed. These terms are often used interchangeably. There are different levels of peer review. For example some journals use editorial peer review (i.e. by the editorial board), peer review by experts in the field, or blind peer review (where neither author nor reviewer know each others' identities).
One definition of peer review is:
A peer reviewed journal is defined as a scholarly or research publication in which the articles submitted for publication are evaluated by individuals who are expert in the subject area (Keenan, S & Johnston, C 2002, Concise dictionary of library and information science, 2nd edn, Bowker Saur, London).
For more information on refereed and peer reviewed articles see our guide to Types of Information Sources (including primary, secondary, tertiary and refereed journals).
How do I find peer reviewed journals in my area of research
There is no single comprehensive and accurate source where you can identify all peer-reviewed journals. The following are some of the methods you can use:
- the journal's editorial statements or instructions to authors (either in the journal itself or on the publisher's website).
- check online databases to see if they allow you to restrict your search to peer-reviewed journals.
- Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory (see below)
- Register of Refereed Journals (DEST List) (see below)
- Journal Citation Reports
You can also look for a specific title on the ISI Master Journal List as all journals indexed by ISI are peer reviewed (see The Thomson Scientific Journal Selection Process).
Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory
- from the Library & Computing Services homepage select Databases and then Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory (don't forget to log in via remote access if you are off campus)
- select Advanced Search to find journals on a topic/subject area
- enter a keyword that describes your area of research in Subject.
- choose Refereed or Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and Active to narrow your search to currently published peer reviewed journals only
- select Search
You will see a list of peer reviewed journals in your subject area. It may be necessary to refine the search if you have too many or too few journals. You can review your search by entering different keywords or by adding more terms.
Register of Refereed Journals (DEST List)
This list is available from the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (DEST). Following consultation with the Higher Education Sector, the department no longer maintains the Register of Refereed Journals. The Register (now closed) will remain available for Higher Education Providers to consult when determining whether a journal satisfies the Higher Education Research Data Collection peer-review requirements.
How do I assess peer reviewed journals?
Impact Factors
An impact factor is a widely used (although controversial) way of measuring the relative ranking of a journal within a particular field. The ISI impact factor for a journal measures how frequently the "average article" in a journal has been cited in a particular year (i.e. the average number of times that articles published in the journal in the two previous years (e.g. 2003-2004) were cited in a particular year (i.e. 2005). For example, the calculation to find a 2005 impact factor for a journal is:
- How do I find out if the journal has an impact factor?
- How do I find out the relative ranking of my journal within a particular field?
What if journals in my field do not have an impact factor?
Impact factors have many failings (e.g. they work best in well-funded areas of science and worst in niche research areas and the humanities). Other measures on journal quality include the:
- peer review process undertaken;
- ensure that the journal is peer reviewed and identify the process undertaken to review it (double blind peer reviewed; panel reviewed etc.)
- rejection rates of journal articles (higher is usually better);
- this information is usually available on either the journal website or the inside cover
- prestige held by the journal's editorial committee or board;
- determine who is on the editorial committee or board and what position they hold as a scholar in your research community
- prestige of the databases which abstract, index or publish your journal;
- determine where the journal is abstracted and/or indexed - this information is most easily acquired by conducting a journal title search on Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory
You may wish to lobby the journal publishers to raise their research quality profile. (see text of a potential email).
How do I select the right journal?
Once you have identified a list of potential journals, check the aims and scope of each to determine whether your work is appropriate for submission.
A journal's Instructions to authors explains what is and is not acceptable to a particular publisher. You can find instructions to authors:
- in the printed format of most journals
- on the journal home page
- by using a search engine e.g. if using Google enter: "journal of plankton research" instructions authors
For further information about publishing and peer reviewed journals see Australian Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) Higher Education Research Data Collection
Assistance
Try this free online tutorial from the University of Colorado - designed to introduce you to the world of scholarly publishing.
For more information contact your Liaison Librarian.
If this information is inadequate, incorrect, or can be improved in any way, please let us know