This blog about how to find top journals is part of our Research Smarter series. Download our cheat sheet, which brings together top tips for finding relevant journals, papers, and authors in your field, sign up for our webinar on the same topic or read the related blog posts for each, here.
Finding relevant journals can be a challenging task for researchers both new and experienced. The myriad tools and technologies can be difficult to navigate. This is frustrating when many databases vary in the reliability, relevancy and organization of their data. Beyond that, the rise of open access, preprint repositories and transparent peer review (to name a few) have had a transformative impact on academic journals in recent years. It has reshaped the way journals are shared, used and valued by scholars across all disciplines.
Web of Science™ delivers unique journal insight at any given time. The comprehensive and complete citation network provides all the data you need to understand a journal’s value and impact. Web of Science Core Collection™ titles are all carefully selected for quality. Furthermore, the tools and features we outline in this guide help you quickly and accurately assess them for your own research.
Journal Citation Reports™: Discover quality research journals
Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is the most powerful product for journal intelligence. It provides researchers with a definitive list and guide to discover and select the most appropriate journals to read and publish findings. JCR delivers a rich array of publisher-independent data, metrics and analysis throughout tens of thousands of journal profile pages. The research community powers these pages via meaningful citation connections.
Researchers and organizations use this comprehensive and trusted subscription-based product to confidently find and assess journals. Head over to JCR now or watch the video below to learn more.
“Journal Citation Reports is the most powerful product for journal intelligence.”
Master Journal List: Quickly assess top journals
Master Journal List (MJL) is a free and trusted resource that supports researchers to find and compare reputable journals, books and conference proceedings indexed in Web of Science. MJL is not as comprehensive as Journal Citation Reports. However, its profile pages help researchers assess the quality of individual journals at a glance. Each journal page lists its publication details and Web of Science coverage and journal metrics. It also as lists open access and peer review characteristics. A range of filters are available to sort and group results, and you can also take advantage of EndNote’s free Manuscript Matcher tool to find the best match for your manuscript. Watch the video below to learn more.
“Master Journal List profile pages help researchers assess the quality of individual journals at a glance.”
Web of Science: Explore influential and emerging journals
The Analyze Results feature in Web of Science identifies the journals publishing the greatest number of papers on any given topic. It helps you dig deep into your specific subject area and identify any trends. Furthermore, it reveals all the influential and emerging journals that can be further analyzed using the products above. The Analyze Results feature can also find trends among the top institutions, funding agencies and authors publishing research. Learn more about Analyze Results here, in the video below, or visit the Web of Science search page to try this out today.
Stay connected
Interested in discovering more tips to really understand your research field? You can download our cheat sheet, which brings together top tips for finding relevant journals, papers and authors in your field, or sign up for our webinar on the same topic. You can also read the related blog posts in our Research Smarter series, here.
