Publishing your Research Article: Science and Engineering : Evaluate Journals
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Evaluate Journals
This page provides the following resources to help you evaluate the quality of a journal:
- Checklist of factors to consider when evaluating credibility of a journal
- Avoiding predatory journals
- Usage of Journal metrics
Use a Checklist of Criteria for Evaluation
Using a list of criteria helps you consider the myriad factors that go into evaluating the quality and appropriateness of a journal. The link below provides an excellent checklist for this:
- Think Check Submit - ChecklistHelps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. Through a range of tools and practical resources, this international, cross-sector initiative aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.
Avoid Predatory Journals
Some journals lack credibility and integrity, and operate for profit.These journals are commonly referred to as 'predatory journals.' It is impossible to make comprehensive lists of these journals. Using the Think Check Submit tool above will help you avoid untrustworthy journals.
This 2019 article from Nature provides a good overview of the nuances of predatory publishing:
- Predatory journals: no definition, no defenceDiscussion between leading scholars and publishers from ten countries to provide a definition of predatory publishing that can protect scholarship
Find Journal Metrics
Metrics (such as the Journal Impact Factor) are frequently used to evaluate the quality of journals. The resources below can help you find journal metrics:
- JCR (Journal Citation Reports)Provides a means of determining the relative importance of scholarly and technical journals within their subject disciplines
- SJR (SCImago Journal and Country Rank)A publicly available portal that includes the journals and country scientific indicators developed from the information contained in the Scopus database
CAUTION: Metrics are an imperfect measure of research impact. See our Research Metrics guide to learn more.