Keywords
quality
prestige
perception
publication practices
journal culture
How to Cite
Number of views: 337
Number of downloads: 600
Abstract
The importance of academic journals in second language (L2) research is evident on at least two levels. Journals are, first of all, central to the process of disseminating scientific findings. Journals are also critical on a professional level as most L2 researchers must publish articles to advance their careers. However, not all journals are perceived as equal; some may be considered more prestigious or of higher quality and may, therefore, achieve a greater impact on the field. It is therefore necessary that we understand the identity and quality of L2 research journals, yet very little research (e.g., Egbert, 2007; VanPatten & Williams, 2002) has considered these issues to date. The current study sought to explore L2 journal identity and quality, and the relationship between these constructs. In order to do so, a database was compiled based on three different types of sources: (1) a questionnaire eliciting L2 researchers’ perceptions of the quality and prestige of 27 journals that publish L2 research (N = 327); (2) manual coding of different types of articles (e.g., empirical studies, review papers), data (quantitative, qualitative, mixed), research settings, and authorship patterns (K = 2,024) using the same 27 journals; and (3) bibliometric and submission data such as impact factors, citation counts, and acceptance rates. Descriptive statistics were applied to explore overall quality and prestige ratings as well as publication trends found in each journal. The relationships between those patterns and subjective ratings were also examined. In addition, regression models were built to determine the extent to which perceptions of journal quality and prestige could be explained as a function of journal and article features. We discuss the findings of the study in terms of on-going debates concerning publication practices, study quality, impact factors, journal selection, and the “journal culture” in applied linguistics.
References
Al-Hoorie, A. H., & Vitta, J. P. (2019). The seven sins of L2 research: A review of 30 journals’ statistical quality and their CiteScore, SJR, SNIP, JCR Impact Factors. Language Teaching Research, 23, 727-744. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818767191
American Association for Applied Linguistics. (2019). Promotion & tenure guidelines. https://www.aaal.org/promotion-and-tenure-guidelines
Amini Farsani, M. A., Jamali, H. R., Beikmohammadi, M., Daneshvar Ghorbani, B. D., & Soleimani, L. (2021). Methodological orientations, academic citations, and scientific collaboration in applied linguistics: What do research synthesis and bibliometrics indicate? System, 100, 102547. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102547
Bhattacharya, U., Jiang, L., & Canagarajah, S. (2020). Race, representation, and diversity in the American Association for Applied Linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 41(6), 999-1004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz003
Bhuyan, R., Park, Y., & Lee, E. (2020). Should journal rankings matter? Assigning “prestige and quality” in the neoliberal academy. Journal of Women and Social Work, 35(2), 157-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109920917247
Chong, S. W., & Plonsky, L. (2023). A typology of secondary research in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0189
Egbert, J. (2007). Quality analysis of journals in TESOL and applied linguistics. TESOL Quarterly, 41(1), 157-171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2007.tb00044.x
Gass, S., Loewen, S., & Plonsky, L. (2021). Coming of age: The past, present, and future of quantitative SLA research. Language Teaching, 54, 245-258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000430
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2020). IBM SPSS statistics 26 step by step: A simple guide and reference (16th ed.). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429056765
Haensly, P. J., Hodges, P. E., & Davenport, S. A. (2008). Acceptance rates and journal quality: An analysis of journals in economics and finance. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship, 14(1), 2-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08963560802176330
Hicks, D., Wouters, P., Waltman, L., De Rijcke, S., & Rafols, I. (2015). The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics. Nature, 520, 429-431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/520429a
Jeon, E. H. (2015). Multiple regression. In L. Plonsky (Ed.), Advancing quantitative methods in second language research (pp. 131-159). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315870908-7
Johnstone, B. (2009). In the profession: Choosing the right journal for your manuscript. Journal of English Linguistics, 37, 375-379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424209348154
Larson-Hall, J. (2015). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS and R. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315775661
Larsson, T., Plonsky, L., & Hancock, G. R. (2022). Latent variables in learner cor-pus research: Conceptual and methodological considerations. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 8, 237-260. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.21007.lar
Lee, K. P., Schotland, M., Bacchetti, P., & Bero, L. A. (2002). Association of journal quality indicators with methodological quality of clinical research articles. JAMA, 287(21), 2805-2808. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.21.2805
Marsden, E., Mackey A., & Plonsky, L. (2016). The IRIS repository: Advancing research practice and methodology. In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages (pp. 1-21). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203489666
McIvor, O. (2020). Indigenous language revitalization and applied linguistics: Parallel histories, shared futures? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 78-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190520000094
Plonsky, L., & Gönülal, T. (2015). Methodological synthesis in quantitative L2 research: A review of reviews and a case study of exploratory factor analysis. Language Learning, 65, Supp. 1, 9-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12111
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2014). How big is “big”? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64, 878-912. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12079
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2015). Meta-analyzing second language research. In L. Plonsky (Ed.), Advancing quantitative methods in second language re-search (pp. 106-128). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315870908-6
Smith, B., & Lafford, B. A. (2009). The evaluation of scholarly activity in computer-assisted language learning. Modern Language Journal, 93, 868-883. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00978.x
Suber, P. (2010). Thoughts on prestige, quality, and open access. Logos, 21(1-2), 115-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/095796510X546959
VanPatten, B., & Williams, J. (2002). Research criteria for tenure in second language acquisition: Results from a survey of the field. (Unpublished manuscript). The University of Illinois of Chicago, IL.
Varki, A. (2017). Rename the impact factor. Nature, 548(7668), 393-393. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/548393c
Weiner, G. (2001). The academic journal: Has it a future? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 9(9), 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v9n9.2001
West, R. E., & Rich, P. J. (2012). Rigor, impact and prestige: A proposed frame-work for evaluating scholarly publications. Innovative Higher Education, 37(5), 359-371. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-012-9214-3
Yu, D., Wang, W., Zhang, S., Zhang, W., & Liu, R. (2017). A multiple-link, mutually reinforced journal-ranking model to measure the prestige of journals. Scientometrics, 111, 521-542. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2262-9
Zhao, J., Beckett, G. H., & Wang, L. L. (2017). Evaluating the research quality in education journals in China: Implications for increasing global impact in peripheral countries. Review of Educational Research, 87(3), 583-618. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654317690813
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Yiran Xu, Jingyuan Zhuang, Ryan Blair, Amy I. Kim, Fei Li, Rachel Thorson Hernández, Luke Plonsky
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
1.1 The Author hereby warrants that he/she is the owner of all the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Work and that, within the scope of the present Agreement, the paper does not infringe the legal rights of another person. The owner of the copyright work also warrants that he/she is the sole and original creator thereof and that is not bound by any legal constraints in regard to the use or sale of the work.
1.2. The Publisher warrants that is the owner of the PRESSto platform for open access journals, hereinafter referred to as the PRESSto Platform.
2. The Author grants the Publisher non-exclusive and free of charge license to unlimited use worldwide over an unspecified period of time in the following areas of exploitation:
2.1. production of multiple copies of the Work produced according to the specific application of a given technology, including printing, reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means (reprography) and digital technology;
2.2. marketing authorisation, loan or lease of the original or copies thereof;
2.3. public performance, public performance in the broadcast, video screening, media enhancements as well as broadcasting and rebroadcasting, made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2.4. inclusion of the Work into a collective work (i.e. with a number of contributions);
2.5. inclusion of the Work in the electronic version to be offered on an electronic platform, or any other conceivable introduction of the Work in its electronic version to the Internet;
2.6. dissemination of electronic versions of the Work in its electronic version online, in a collective work or independently;
2.7. making the Work in the electronic version available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, in particular by making it accessible via the Internet, Intranet, Extranet;
2.8. making the Work available according to appropriate license pattern Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) as well as another language version of this license or any later version published by Creative Commons.
3. The Author grants the Publisher permission to reproduce a single copy (print or download) and royalty-free use and disposal of rights to compilations of the Work and these compilations.
4. The Author grants the Publisher permission to send metadata files related to the Work, including to commercial and non-commercial journal-indexing databases.
5. The Author represents that, on the basis of the license granted in the present Agreement, the Publisher is entitled and obliged to:
5.1. allow third parties to obtain further licenses (sublicenses) to the Work and to other materials, including derivatives thereof or compilations made, based on or including the Work, whereas the provisions of such sub-licenses will be the same as with the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons sub-license or another language version of this license, or any later version of this license published by Creative Commons;
5.2. make the Work available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, without any technological constraints;
5.3. appropriately inform members of the public to whom the Work is to be made available about sublicenses in such a way as to ensure that all parties are properly informed (appropriate informing messages).
6. Because of the royalty-free provision of services of the Author (resulting from the scope of obligations stipulated in the present Agreement), the Author shall not be entitled to any author’s fee due and payable on the part of the Publisher (no fee or royalty is payable by the Publisher to the Author).
7.1. In the case of third party claims or actions for indemnity against the Publisher owing to any infractions related to any form of infringement of intellectual property rights protection, including copyright infringements, the Author is obliged to take all possible measures necessary to protect against these claims and, when as a result of legal action, the Publisher, or any third party licensed by the Publisher to use the Work, will have to abandon using the Work in its entirety or in part or, following a court ruling in a legal challenge, to pay damages to a third party, whatever the legal basis
7.2. The Author will immediately inform the Publisher about any damage claims related to intellectual property infringements, including the author’s proprietary rights pertaining to a copyrighted work, filed against the Author. of liability, the Author is obliged to redress the damage resulting from claims made by third party, including costs and expenditures incurred in the process.
7.3. To all matters not settled herein provisions of the Polish Civil Code and the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act shall apply.