Choosing a quality journal
An indication of a journal’s quality is whether the journal conducts peer reviews on submitted journal articles.
For a journal article to be included as a research publication at a university such as RMIT, it must be refereed/peer reviewed. For more information about the eligibility criteria for a journal article to be included as a research publication at RMIT, refer to the RMIT Researcher Portal.
Other measures of quality include:
- How well known is the journal within a research discipline. Speak with your colleagues or supervisor.
- Whether the journal has an impact factor or a Scimago journal ranking – e.g., is the journal ranked in the top-quartile for its subject area? See the Library’s guide to metrics for more information on finding and assessing top-ranked journals.
- The journal title is included in the 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) journal list
- The journal title is included in a discipline ranking list
- Is the journal’s publisher a member of a recognised professional association?
Activity
Use one of the following lists to assess the quality of a journal you identified from the previous activity:
SciMago Journal & Country Rank (SJR)
- Go to SJR and search for the title of your journal
- Does your journal appear in the SJR lists? Is it listed as a top-quartile journal in any subject area? This may be an indication of the journal’s quality and esteem
or
ERA 2018
- Search for the journal title in the ERA 2018 journal list
- Does your journal appear in this list? If so, articles published in this journal were accepted for ERA reporting, which is an indication of quality.
