Evaluating Journals and
the Institutions that Publish in Them
Cabell’s Adds a New Dimension
These ranking systems will assist users when:
• Evaluating the importance of a journal in
furthering future research
• Determining the degree of difficulty an author
encounters when seeking to publish in a
journal
Classifications of Methods to Evaluate the Importance of Journals
Classifications of Methods to
Evaluate the Importance of Journals
• Journal Citation Count - number of times an
article has been cited in a publication
• Online Usage – citations, tweets, blog posts,
news stories that mention the article
• Peer Review - panel members make
judgments about research published in
journals
Criteria for Evaluating
these Approaches
• Reliability
• Validity
• Usefulness
Why Peer Review is Not Enough
• Inherent subjectivity lessens reliability
• Reviewers may have limited knowledge
• May lack framework for comparing the
journals
Why Online Usage is Not Enough
• Does not meet the validity criteria
• Tweets, blog posts and news stories only
indicate awareness
• Number of downloads does not indicate
usefulness
Methodological Criticisms
of Citation Counts
• Emphasis on the journal cited not the article
• Approach does not apply to more recent
digital scholarship sources
• Citation counts slow to accumulate and
update
Further Methodological Criticisms
• Reasons to cite other than develop a framework:
– Refute previous research
– Political reasons
– Curry favor with editors/reviewers
• Vary among disciplines
• Algorithms and statistical methods are difficult
to understand
Why is the Cabell’s Approach Better?
• Classification
• Inclusion
• Simplicity
Cabell’s
Classification
Index
(CCI)
Cabell's Classification Index (CCI)
• Used to determine the influence of a journal
– Frequently cited journals are considered to
have more influence on future research
– Journals that have been published for five
years or more are considered to influence
future research
Cabell's Classification Index (CCI)
• Using citation counts from the most recent 3 years:
– Average citation count for each journal was calculated
– Reduces the importance any one article had on the
journal’s citation count
– Gives more importance to recent published research
relative to articles published more than 3 years ago
– The total weighted score of each journal was normalized
using its Z score
Cabell's Classification Index (CCI)
Classifies the influence of a journal into 5 categories:
Cabell’s Classification Index
Z Score
Classification
1.282 or higher
Premiere
0.842 - 1.281
Significant Influence
less than or equal to 0.841
High Influence
No citation count/Published for a
period of 5+ years
Qualified
No citation count/Published for a
period of less than 5 years
Novice
Number of Journals & Average
Citation Count
Journals
with
Citation
Counts
Accounting
C/S Business
Info System
Economics &
Finance
Management
Marketing
Average
Significant
High
Premiere Influence Influence Qualified
Novice
126
948
4.6455
6.8343
2.6312
4.1645
0.8182
1.5009
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
687
4.7181
2.7731
0.9329
n/a
n/a
1,095
256
5.4852
5.2062
3.1188
3.1724
1.0039
1.1155
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
5.37786
3.17196
1.07428
n/a
n/a
Sample Journal Entry with CCI
Sample Journal Entry with CCI
Number of Journals Listed in
Cabell’s and/or Scopus
Total Listed in Scopus
Total Listed in
Cabell’s
Accounting
126
593
Computer Science –
Business Information
System
Economics & Finance
948
1,593
687
1,494
Management
1,095
2,206
Marketing
256
758
Total
3,112
6,644
Journal Longevity
• CCI calculation includes journals that have been
published for at least 5 years
• Longevity of publication indicates the journals
have influence on research
• Publication history makes the journals familiar to
researchers
• Permits researchers to use previous issues to
determine the journal’s usefulness
Benefits of the CCI
• Allows journal rankings to be compared across
disciplines
• Accounts for some variation in the calculations
without altering perceived influence
• Provides a more in-depth description of the
journals
Cabell’s
Institutional
Publishing
Activity Index
(IPA)
Why Acceptance Rates
Are Not Enough
• 3 Issues
– Methodology used to compute acceptance
rates differ among journals
– Publishers are reluctant to provide
acceptance rates
– Specialized focus of a journal may limit the
number of people who can publish in that
journal
Cabell’s Institutional
Publishing Activity Index (IPA)
• Used to improve the process of evaluating
institutions publishing in journals
– Recognize the differences in research
resource availability among institutions
– Such factors result in differences in the
publishing effectiveness of institutions
Cabell’s Institutional
Publishing Activity Index (IPA)
• Using citation counts from the most recent 3 years:
– The counts in each classification were weighted by the
average citations per document (article)
– Compensates for smaller percentages of journals in
Premiere (10%) and Significant (10%) groups relative to
the number of journals in High Influence (80%)
– Recognizes increased importance due to frequency of
citation of journals in Premiere and Significant groups
– The total weighted score of each institution was
normalized using its Z score
Cabell’s Institutional
Publishing Activity Index (IPA)
Classifies the publishing activity of an institution into 4 categories:
Cabell’s Institutional Publishing Activity Index
Z Score
Classification
1.282 or higher
Recognized Publishing Activity
0.842 - 1.281
Significant Publishing Activity
less than or equal to 0.841
High Publishing Activity
Institutions Accredited by National
Accreditation Associations, but
whose faculty members publish in
journals without citation counts
Accredited
Accrediting Agencies
Directory
Association
Accounting
AACSB International
Computer Science-Business
Information Systems
AACSB International
Economics and Finance
AACSB International
Education Curriculum and
Methods
NCATE
Educational Psychology and
Administration
NCATE
Educational Technology and Library
NCATE
Science
Health Administration
ALA
Management
AACSB International
Marketing
AACSB International
Nursing
AACN
Psychology
APA
Cabell’s
Difficulty of
Acceptance
Index
(DA)
Cabell’s Difficulty of Acceptance Index (DA)
• Used to determine the varying degrees of
difficulty authors encounter in seeking to have
their manuscripts accepted by journals
– Institutions whose faculties frequently publish are
likely to have advantages in resources
– It can be more difficult for authors to publish in
journals which frequently accept articles from
“Recognized” institutions (IPA)
Cabell’s Difficulty of Acceptance Index (DA)
• Using citation counts from the most recent 3 years:
– Classifies the challenge of having manuscripts
accepted by journals into three categories
– Each journal’s Z score is calculated, and rankings are
based on Z score
Cabell’s Difficulty of Acceptance Index (DA)
Cabell’s Difficulty of Acceptance Index
Z Score
Difficulty of Acceptance
1.282 or higher
Rigorous
0.842 - 1.281
Significantly Difficult
Less than or equal to 0.841
Difficult
Cabell’s Difficulty of Acceptance Index (DA)
Accounting
Computer Science &
Business Info System
Economics & Finance
0.6753
0.7751
Significantly
Difficult
0.4811
0.6581
0.7718
0.6649
0.4126
Management
Marketing
0.8407
0.7520
0.7394
0.6244
0.4785
0.37634
Average
0.7629
0.6335
0.3823
Rigorous
Difficult
0.2082
0.436
CCI Summary
• Cabell’s Classification Index (CCI)
– Includes a larger number of journals than other
databases that emphasize citation counts
– Makes citation counts user-friendly
– Allows comparison of journals across disciplines
– Recognizes the relative influence of journals
IPA Summary
• Cabell’s Institutional Publishing Activity Index (IPA)
– Recognizes that the institution plays a major role in
the faculty’s publishing activity
– Accounts for disparities in the budgets available for
research, equipment, facilities, faculty support,
research assistance, the rewards for publishing, and
the capabilities of individual faculty members
DA Summary
• Cabell’s Difficulty of Acceptance Index (DA)
– A measure of an individual’s capability to publish
– Those journals labeled as “Rigorous” accept more
manuscripts submitted by authors at “Recognized”
institutions than institutions not labeled as
“Recognized”
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