Library Guides: Rural Sociology: Journal Quality

Finding Journals

Where's a good place to publish my article?

Journal Citation Reports
Source of journal impact factors and subject category rankings for journals indexed in the Web of Science database.
Free account can be created for personalization.
Date Coverage: 1997- date
Maximum Users: Unlimited
Tutorials: http://jcr.help.clarivate.com.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/Content/training-videos.htm
User Guide http://clarivate.libguides.com/home
Scopus
Scopus lists more social science journals than does Journal Citation Reports/Web of Science, but the journals here may still be considered reliable for publishing purposes.
Date Coverage: 1970-present; selected access back to 1823

Maximum Users: Unlimited

Truncation:
Truncation: *; Wildcard: ?

Search Guide: http://help.scopus.com

Tutorial: https://supporthub.scopus.com

Auto Alerts: http://library.missouri.edu/search/databases/alertslist.htm#scopus

eigenFACTOR
Freely available; uses JCR/ISI data
SCImago
freely available; uses Scopus data (Elsevier)
Google Scholar - Metrics
Top publications listed by broad categories - found under Metrics; subcategories (e.g. Nursing; public health) available
Jane - Journal/Author Name Estimator
A calculator, or algorithm, that uses the title and abstract of your article to suggest possible journals to submit to. Jane works by comparing your abstract to those in MEDLINE, so probably of limited usefulness to social scientists.

Top Journals in Rural Sociology

Generally the most effective way to search for a topic is by using databases, however, sometimes you may want to look at a specific journal. Following is a list of some of the top journals in Rural Sociology:

Rural Sociology

Journal of Rural Studies

Sociologia Ruralis

Agriculture & Human Values

Society & Natural Resources

Annual Review of Sociology

Since Rural Sociology crosses many disciplinary boundaries, journals of interest may be in several subject categories. JCR, Journal Citation Reports is a good source for a listing of top ranked journals in dozens of fields including Sociology, Environmental Studies, Agriculture and Demography.

Library Guides on Publishing

Where to Publish Your Research
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Publishing tool kit
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Judging a journal's quality

How to find out if a journal is good or reputable.

Questions to ask:

Have you read a few of the articles?
Would you want your article next to that other article?
Do you know anyone who’s publishing there?
Who’s on the editorial board?
Have you contacted any of the editors to make sure they agreed to be on the editorial board?

Find journal quality indicators
Check impact factor, citescore and other quality metrics all in one place.
See the description of these metrics below.
Requires login with MU user name and password.

Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association Use to check if the publisher is a member.

Directory of Open Access Journals maintains a whitelist of journals which meet certain standards. A subset of journals which adhere to best practices get a DOAJ Seal of Approval .

The International Academy of Nursing Editors has a vetted list of reputable nursing journals that meet explicit criteria.