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Part II: Identifying Appropriate Scholarly Journals

Index Indications

Use Academic Journal Indices

Another approach to identifying an appropriate journal is to search an academic journal index in your discipline. Check your university library’s website or talk to a reference librarian to see what indices are available to you. Examples include Academic Source Premier, Biomed Central, SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts), and PsycINFO.

When you search for your topic in these indices, are there journals that appear to address your subject more often than others?

True or False: The best way to get to know the different indices and how to use them is to find them online and learn to use them by trial and error.



Check University Department Websites

You can also learn which journals are valued in your field by looking at websites for well-respected university departments in your field. Where are the professors in that department publishing their own papers?

Looking at reference lists, journal indices, and department websites is not a particularly scientific way to identify a journal, but it is useful. Such an exercise can be a highly effective first step.

There are other non-scientific-yet-useful approaches... some of which are as easy as opening your mouth. Check it out>>

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