Accumulating Knowledge through Journals

Barbara Schneider and Ann OwensUniversity of Chicago

2003

How do you determine what constitutes the “most important and influential research” reported in journals?

The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) claims that it provides a comprehensive database of the world’s “most important and influential research” (Testa, 2002)

Important caveat: Comprehensive does not necessarily mean all-inclusive (Garfield, 1990)

The Need to Be Selective

“Recent citation analyses have shown that as few as 150 journals account for half of what is cited and one quarter of what is published. It has also been shown that a core of approximately 2,000 journals now accounts for about 85% of published articles and 95% of cited articles.” (Testa2002).

What are the Education Journals listed in the Social Science

Citation Index (SSCI)*?

The SSCI categorizes 152 journals into one of its three education categories (education and educational research, educational psychology, and special education)

*A product of ISI

Journals Considered Education by SSCI (AERA journals highlighted)

CHINESE EDUCATION AND SOCIETY

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

BRITISH EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL

BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

APPLIED MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATION

ANTHROPOLOGY AND EDUCATION QUARTERLY

ANNALS OF DYSLEXIA

AMERICAN JOURNAL ON MENTAL RETARDATION

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL

AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF

AIDS EDUCATION AND PREVENTION

ADVANCES IN HEALTH SCIENCES EDUCATION

ADULT EDUCATION QUARTERLY

ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY

ACADEME-BULLETIN OF THE AAUP

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST

EDUCATIONAL POLICY

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

EDUCATIONAL GERONTOLOGY

EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS

EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY

EDUCATION AND URBAN SOCIETY

EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN MENTAL RETARDATION AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION REVIEW

EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH QUARTERLY

DYSLEXIA

DISCOURSE PROCESSES

CURRICULUM INQUIRY

CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL

CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

COMPUTERS & EDUCATION

COMPARATIVE EDUCATION REVIEW

COMPARATIVE EDUCATION

COGNITION AND INSTRUCTION

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTATION

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS

JOURNAL OF EDUCATION POLICY

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF EARLY INTERVENTION

JOURNAL OF CURRICULUM STUDIES

JOURNAL OF CREATIVE BEHAVIOR

JOURNAL OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING

JOURNAL OF COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT

JOURNAL OF ART AND DESIGN EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY

JOURNAL FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE GIFTED

JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

JAPANESE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

INTERVENTION IN SCHOOL AND CLINIC

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

INSTRUCTIONAL SCIENCE

INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL

INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN

HIGHER EDUCATION

HIGH ABILITY STUDIES

HEALTH EDUCATION RESEARCH

HARVARD EDUCATIONAL REVIEW

GIFTED CHILD QUARTERLY

GENDER AND EDUCATION

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS

FOCUS ON EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION

ETR&D-EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL

EDUCATIONAL STUDIES

EDUCATIONAL REVIEW

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW

JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF MORAL EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF LITERACY RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF LEGAL EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF FLUENCY DISORDERS

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

READING TEACHER

READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY

READING RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION

QUEST

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS

PSYCHOLOGIE IN ERZIEHUNG UND UNTERRICHT

PHI DELTA KAPPAN

PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION

OXFORD REVIEW OF EDUCATION

NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES

MINERVA

MENTAL RETARDATION

MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION IN COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING DISABILITY QUARTERLY

LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION

LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

LANGUAGE LEARNING

JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES

JOURNAL OF TEACHING IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY

TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION

TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD

STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

SECOND LANGUAGE RESEARCH

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF READING

SCIENCE EDUCATION

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

RUSSIAN EDUCATION AND SOCIETY

REVIEW OF RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

REVIEW OF HIGHER EDUCATION

REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

RESEARCH IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH

RESEARCH IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

RESEARCH IN HIGHER EDUCATION

REMEDIAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PADAGOGISCHE PSYCHOLOGIE

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PADAGOGIK

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ENTWICKLUNGS PSYCHOLOGIE UND PADAGOGISCHE PSYCHOLOGIE

YOUNG CHILDREN

VOPROSY PSIKHOLOGII

VOLTA REVIEW

URBAN EDUCATION

TOPICS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION

THEORY INTO PRACTICE

TESOL QUARTERLY (TEACHERS OF ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES)

TEACHING SOCIOLOGY

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) lists 1,016 education journals. Following are the journals considered education by ISI but not included in ERIC. A third of these journals excluded by ERIC are international journals and nearly two-thirds are psychology and developmental journals.

Journals considered education by SSCI, but not in ERIC

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PADAGOGISCHE PSYCHOLOGIE

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ENTWICKLUNGS PSYCHOLOGIE UND PADAGOGISCHE PSYCHOLOGIE

VOPROSY PSIKHOLOGII

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF READING

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

REVIEW OF RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

PSYCHOLOGIE IN ERZIEHUNG UND UNTERRICHT

PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION

NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES

MINERVA

LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

JOURNAL OF FLUENCY DISORDERS

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTATION

JOURNAL OF EDUCATION POLICY

JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

JAPANESE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL

HIGH ABILITY STUDIES

HEALTH EDUCATION RESEARCH

ETR&D-EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST

DYSLEXIA

CURRICULUM INQUIRY

CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

AIDS EDUCATION AND PREVENTION

ADVANCES IN HEALTH SCIENCES EDUCATION

ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY

There are 153 journals in both the general SSCI journal list and ERIC that are not considered education by SSCI. These, for the most part, are disciplinary based journals, such as the American Historical Review, the American Sociological Review, and Cognitive Psychology.

Journals in both SSCI and ERIC, but not considered education by SSCI

FUTURE OF CHILDREN

FAMILY RELATIONS

EVALUATION REVIEW

EVALUATION AND PROGRAM PLANNING

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

ELECTRONIC LIBRARY

DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

DEATH STUDIES

CRIME AND DELINQUENCY

COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST

COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

COMMUNICATION MONOGRAPHS

COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

COGNITION

CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES REVIEW

CHILD WELFARE

CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

CHILD & FAMILY BEHAVIOR THERAPY

CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

ASSESSMENT

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT

APPLIED PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

APPLIED LINGUISTICS

ANNUAL REVIEW OF INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (ARIST)

AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST

AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY

AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH

AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW

AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST

ALTERNATIVES

ADOLESCENCE

ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE

JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANSHIP

ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR REVIEW

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REHABILITATION RESEARCH

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGING & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

INTELLIGENCE

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARIES

INFORMATION PROCESSING & MANAGEMENT

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

HISPANIC JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

HEALTH & SOCIAL WORK

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION QUARTERLY

GERONTOLOGIST

JOURNAL OF EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE

JOURNAL OF DRUG EDUCATION

JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION

JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION

JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE

JOURNAL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE

JOURNAL OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT

JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT

JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES

JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS

POPULATION RESEARCH AND POLICY REVIEW

POLICY REVIEW

ONLINE

NURSING OUTLOOK

NURSE EDUCATION TODAY

MULTIVARIATE BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW

MONOGRAPHS OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL

LIBRARY TRENDS

LIBRARY RESOURCES & TECHNICAL SERVICES

LIBRARY QUARTERLY

LIBRARY JOURNAL

LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH

LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY

LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES

LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE

JOURNAL OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE

JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL BEHAVIOR

JOURNAL OF URBAN TECHNOLOGY

JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR PERSONS WITH SEVERE HANDICAPS

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES

JOURNAL OF SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING

JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN CRIME AND DELINQUENCY

JOURNAL OF PROFESSIONAL NURSING

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY

JOURNAL OF LEISURE RESEARCH

JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE

JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES

JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY

JOURNAL OF FAMILY ISSUES

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL OF EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING

SOCIAL WORK

SOCIAL FORCES

SIGNS: JOURNAL OF WOMEN IN CULTURE AND SOCIETY

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN VALUES

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

RURAL SOCIOLOGY

RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT

RESEARCH ON SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION

RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

REHABILITATION COUNSELING BULLETIN

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH

PUBLIC RELATIONS REVIEW

PUBLIC PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

PUBLIC INTEREST

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW

PSYCHOMETRIKA

PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN QUARTERLY

PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

YOUTH & SOCIETY

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

WESTERN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION

TOPICS IN LANGUAGE DISORDERS

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION: JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

SUICIDE AND LIFE-THREATENING BEHAVIOR

STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING

SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT JOURNAL

SOCIETY

SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH

What is the Evaluation Process?

Publishing StandardsCitation AnalysisExpert Review

Publishing Standards

Timeliness of publication: The journal must be able to adhere to its stated frequency of publication.Peer-review: Peer review is indicative of a higher quality of research presented in a journal.International editorial conventions: Articles in journals must provide retrievable sources, full bibliographic information, address information for authors, and informative titles for both journals and articles.

Citation Analysis

Overall citation rate: Number of times the journal has been citedImpact factor:

Number of times a journal has been cited in the past year

Total number of articles published by the journal in the past two years

Immediacy Impact: Average number of times in the year of its publication an article is cited

Citation RateOverall Citation Rate: Number of times in one year a journal is cited.

9286.4Average citation count for the top 5 education journalsChild Development Psychological Review American Psychologist Developmental Psychology American Sociological Review

766.8Average citation count for the AERA JournalsEducational Researcher (ER) (Not included in the SSCI)American Educational Research Journal (AERJ)Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (EEPA)Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics (JEBS)Review of Educational Research (RER)Review of Research in Education (RRE)

471.17Average citation count for the 153 journals SSI considers education

Impact FactorNumber of times a journal is cited in one year

Total number of articles in the journal in the past 2 years

The impact factor controls for the journal’s size as journals who publish more articles may have a better chance of being cited.

5.3374Average impact factor for the 5 education journals with the highest impact factorsPsychological ReviewMonographs of the Society for Research in Child DevelopmentAmerican PsychologistCognitive PsychologyChild Development

1.0228Average impact factor for the AERA journals

.64113Average impact factor for the 153 journals SSI considers education

Immediacy IndexImmediacy Index: Average number of times in the year of its publication an article is cited; indicates the speed with which a journal is cited.

1.9316Average immediacy index for the 5 education journals with the highest immediacy indexAmerican PsychologistCounseling PsychologistEducational PsychologistPsychological ReviewSchool Psychology Review

.096Average immediacy index for the AERA journals

.13537Average immediacy index for the 153 journals SSI considers education

Expert Review

The ISI editorial board, made up of professionals from various fields, reviews the journals submitted for inclusion in their databases.The editorial board also asks subscribers to the journals and people working in the field, i.e. teachers, for feedback about the quality and usefulness of the journals.

Research in Other Fields

Medical journals also use ISI indicators. One selective database for medical journals is the Brandon/Hill Library which produces 3 reference lists, each containing between 300-700 journals and books.Medical journal databases also look at circulation rate and acceptance rate.

Not applicable6,233**projected

Review of Research in Education

9%18,342Review of Educational Research

27%3,541Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics

16.5%6,230Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis

7%19,932American Educational Research Journal

Features--19%; Research News & Comment--9%

22,628Educational Researcher

Acceptance Rate(based on Jan.-Jun. 2003)

Circulation Rate (based on 2003 Summer/Fall issues)

Journal Name

AERA Journals Acceptance Rate and Circulation Rate

Top Five Journals by Citation Count*Acceptance Rate and Circulation Rate

*Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and the American Journal of Pubic Health excluded because of their irrelevancy to education

10.7%9,600American Sociological Review

35%5,171Developmental Psychology

8%114,969American Psychologist

27%5,370Psychological Review

6%10,000*Child Development

Acceptance RateCirculation Rate Journal Name

*estimated

Top Five Journals by Impact Factor*

Acceptance Rate and Circulation Rate*Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology excluded because of its irrelevancy to education

27%5,370Psychological Review

6%10,000*Child Development

Unavailable UnavailableCognitive Psychology

8%114,969American Psychologist

22%9,000*Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development

Acceptance RateCirculation RateJournal Name

*estimated

Top Five Journals by Immediacy Index*

Acceptance Rate and Circulation Rate*Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and the American Journal of Pubic Health excluded

because of their irrelevancy to education

8%114,969American Psychologist

15%*22,000-23,000*School Psychology Review

27%5,370Psychological Review

27%2,371Educational Psychologist

15%3,460Counseling Psychologist

Acceptance RateCirculation RateJournal Name

*estimated

What this Workshop is Going to Explore

1. How policies and practices promote or inhibit the development of high quality journals

2. The promotion of coherent standards among journals

3. Quality issues facing on-line publishing