Part II: Identifying Appropriate Scholarly Journals

Guided Tour

Consult Disciplinary Journal Guides

To identify scholarly journals in your field, find a journal guide for your discipline. These invaluable guides provide basic information about journals in a given field, including:

Editor’s name and address for submission
Publication guidelines
Circulation data
Review information
Manuscript topics
Manuscript guidelines and comments, including the journal’s objectives and style guidelines for authors

You can find copies of many of these guides in your university library. View a sample page from Cabell's Directory Of Publishing Opportunities In Accounting. (© 2006 Cabell Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

Pay particular attention to the review information, which will indicate whether the journal is peer reviewed.

Note the scope or editorial focus of the journal to make sure that its subject matter, methodological orientation, and theoretical orientation are appropriate for your project.

For example, the Academy of Management, a leading professional association for management scholars, publishes four scholarly journals, each with a different orientation and emphasis:

Journal	Focus
Academy of Management Review	Publishes conceptual articles that provide new theoretical insights. A theory development journal for management and organization scholars.
Academy of Management Journal	Publishes reports of empirical investigations, including empirical tests of theory, case analyses, or articles primarily about data or the testing of data.
Academy of Management Perspectives	Provides accessible articles about important issues concerning management and business. Articles are aimed at the non-specialist academic reader, not practicing managers, and rely on evidence as opposed to theory or opinion for their arguments.
Academy of Management Learning and Education	Publishes articles about the scholarship of teaching.

Be sure you target a journal that fits your topic and approach!