What are we really evaluating when we rank journals : Comparisons of views

This paper examines differences in academics perceptions of how journals should be evaluated in terms of their prestige, contribution to theory, contribution to practice and contribution to teaching. Comparisons are made between individual and institutional weightings, regional variations and whether an individual works at an institution offering a PhD/DBA. Some differences were identified, suggesting that that evaluative criteria used to rank journal may be influenced by employment situations.<br /

The Pareto plus syndrome in top marketing journals: research and journal criteria

Purpose &ndash; Pareto&rsquo;s Law often refers to the theory that a small percentage of a total is responsible for a large proportion of the total outcome. It is commonly known as the 80/20 law or principle. The objective is to review and debate whether there is a &ldquo;Pareto syndrome&rdquo; in the distribution of crucial research and journal criteria in top marketing journals.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The authors provide a review and a debate based upon previous research on top marketing journals. For this purpose, the Pareto syndrome concept is introduced, based upon a set of research and journal criteria. Their distribution is examined.Findings &ndash; The review of research and journal criteria in top marketing journals generated an extremely skewed outcome. When it comes to the criteria, the top journals in marketing tend to be governed by narrow concerns of research rather than broad ones.Research limitations/implications &ndash; The research and journal criteria that have a skewed outcome may reinforce the rigidity and the lack of innovativeness of the marketing discipline. The evolutionary speed of the discipline may at best be reduced or it may at worst grind to a halt. The authors argue that there are a number of serious concerns to be addressed in the future review and debate of top journals in marketing.Practical implications &ndash; Editors and editorial boards need seriously to address the concerns reviewed and debated, namely the skewed distribution of criteria, such as affiliation, data and methodology.Originality/value &ndash; The authors debate that there is evidence that confirms the existence of a Pareto plus syndrome in key research and journal criteria of top marketing journals.<br /

Research data in marketing journals

Our objective is to assess the geocentricity of research data in a selection of continentally based leading academic marketing journals. The assessment considers a six-year period, namely 2000-2005. The content analysis consisted of 811 published contributions. The empirical findings may be illustrative to other academic journals in the field of marketing. The assessment is summarised on an aggregated level and per journal title. The journal sample consists of the Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), the European Journal of Marketing (EJM) and the Journal of Marketing (JM) &ndash; a cross-continental assessment. We contend that the selected journals should not be considered to be dramatically different in any particular sense in the area of academic marketing journals. On the contrary, together they may be quite representative of several others as well.<br /

A cross-continental examination and comparison of descriptive criteria in marketing journals-AMJ, EJM and JM

The objective is to perform a cross-continental examination and comparison of non-traditional descriptive criteria in a selection of leading academic journals in marketing. The sample of journals is restricted to the examination and comparison of three academic journals in marketing. The journal sample consists of the Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), the European Journal of Marketing (EJM) and the Journal of Marketing (JM). Empirical research manuscripts dominate in the selected marketing journals. In addition, in the selected journals regular issues dominate in favour of special issues. The descriptive criteria examined and compared in AMJ, EJM and JM are based upon the content analysis of 811 manuscripts published during a six-year period, namely 2000-2005. Manuscripts of types other than empirical research, such as general reviews, literature reviews, conceptual papers, commentaries and book reviews are less likely to get published. Special issues or special sections are less frequent in these journals. This may lead to the situation that specialized journals in sub-areas of marketing may provide better and more comprehensive leading edge coverage and knowledge. The insights provided are in particular valuable for those scholars that do not usually get involved in academic publishing and consequently have a limited understanding and experience of the publication arena of manuscripts in leading academic journals. These insights also will be informative for more experienced academic publishers as they highlight certain characteristics of these journals that enlighten one as to the journals that one should target for publication and the difficulty, just on a numbers basis alone, of getting published in one of these three journals. The principal contribution of this research is the examination and comparison of descriptive criteria in AMJ, EJM and JM &ndash; a cross-continental sample of journals and criteria that have not been explored or reported previously in literature.<br /

Research designs and scientific identity in marketing journals: review and evaluation

Purpose - This research is based upon the assumption that the empirical research designs and the scientific identity of a journal are related. The objective is to review and evaluate the empirical research design of papers to determine the scientific identity of a selection of academic marketing journals. Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The journal sample consists of the Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), the European Journal of Marketing (EJM) and the Journal of Marketing (JM). The review and evaluation considers a six-year period, namely 2000-2005. The content analysis consisted of 811 papers. Findings &ndash; The scientific identity of JM may be seen as built upon quantitative research designs and the North American paradigm of research values. The scientific identity of AMJ is based upon a mix of empirical research designs and the Australian paradigm of research values. The scientific identity of EJM is also based upon a mix of empirical research designs, but a multi-continental paradigm of research values. Research limitations/implications &ndash; The leading continental journals in marketing maintain a scientific identity based upon the continental paradigm of research values. If it is driven to the extremes, a paradigmatic myopia and inertia of research designs may evolve that limit the scientific identity to be dogmatic and narrow-focused rather than variable and broad-focused. Originality/value &ndash; A cross-continental eview and evaluation of research designs and scientific identity of academic marketing journals is presented.<br /

Ethnocentricity in academic marketing journals: a study of authors, reviewers, editorial boards and editors

Purpose &ndash; This paper aims to examine and compare a set of key characteristics of ethnocentricity that influence the policy of academic marketing journals, and hence the provenance, authorship and nature of articles in academic marketing journals.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The &ldquo;fundamental&rdquo; characteristics of three major marketing journals, published in the USA, the UK and New Zealand, were examined for the six-year period from the start of 2000 to the end of 2006. Data were collected from editorials and web homepages. Analysis was conducted of 811 articles, 1,676 authors, three editorial teams and three sets of reviewersFindings &ndash; There is a challenging academic ethnocentricity in the management and implied policy of the three journals. The extent varies, but the inescapable conclusion is that the world-wide research community in marketing is not properly represented by leading journals.Research limitations/implications &ndash; The sample was intentionally small, and unrepresentative of any category except &ldquo;leading quality&rdquo;. The findings are intended to add momentum to a debate and point ways forward, not to provide generalisable answers.Practical implications &ndash; The findings suggest that: the editorial boards and reviewing teams should be made more representative geographically; editorships should be organized around the concept of a team of geographically differentiated editors; editorial and review teams should be ethnographically representative of individuals who do research and wish to publish it, particularly beyond the English-speaking world. In general, the world-wide research community in marketing would benefit from less ethnocentricity in academic journals, and these leading examples should strive to reduce it.Originality/value &ndash; The impact of ethnocentricity is underestimated in this context. The issue needs to be discussed, because of paradigmatic influences that it can have on a journal and the profile of its authors, and hence on journal ranking and perceptions of journal quality.<br /

NASA RECON: Course Development, Administration, and Evaluation

The R and D activities addressing the development, administration, and evaluation of a set of transportable, college-level courses to educate science and engineering students in the effective use of automated scientific and technical information storage and retrieval systems, and, in particular, in the use of the NASA RECON system, are discussed. The long-range scope and objectives of these contracted activities are overviewed and the progress which has been made toward these objectives during FY 1983-1984 is highlighted. In addition, the results of a survey of 237 colleges and universities addressing course needs are presented