Journal Evaluation: Overall Quality

First and foremost, this guide is only a guide.  It is intended to help you assess the quality of a journal.

Why does it matter?

• Maintain the integrity of your research by citing quality sources
• Learn more about your discipline by identifying important sources
• Help you determine where to publish

What does a quality journal look like?

A few things to know about the journal:

• Acceptance/rejection rates
• Citations in other journals
• Found in indexing services
• Read a few articles from the journal to learn more about the quality of what they publish
• Metrics (journal impact factor or rank or Eigenfactor)

Go to the journal's website.

What you want: Transparency

• Peer review process/methodology should be explicit
• Peer review process will not be fast (days)
• Any and all fees associated with publishing should be listed and should be similar to other reputable journals
• Should have ISSNs and DOIs
• Aim, scope, and readership should be clear
• Owners, management, editorial boards, and governing boards should be available and include contact information
• Copyright and licensing policies should be articulated
• Publishing information including research misconduct policies, publishing schedules, journal access, archive policies, and more should all be available on the website

More things to think about:

• Grammar - watch for typos or vocabulary is below industry standards
• Layout or picture quality is unprofessional
• No "About Us" information and/or it is contradictory
• Missing contact information
• Dead links
• Address isn't right (check Google Maps)
• Editorial board members have no academic credentials
• Negative reputation - check Cabell's
• Lack of guidance on manuscripts