In tenure/promotion evaluation, the FLAGSHIP journals of a field are considered to be top notch. However, in audiology and speech-language pathology, two flagship journals (JASA and JSLHR) are primarily known for publishing behavioral research. If impact factor matters, JASA and JSLHR are no longer among the top 10 in the field according to the Journal Citation Report (JCR 2015 and 2016, Web of Science). By comparison, Hearing Research, Ear and Hearing, Brain and Language are consistently in the top 5 (JCR 2012-2016). A new open access journal, Trends in Hearing, took the No. 1 spot in JCR 2016. The citation trends indicate that traditional journals like JASA and JSLHR are facing challenges from journals with higher impact factors, including open access journals that typically have a faster review process. For your brain research manuscripts, what is your experience with various journals (review rigor, speed, days to online publication (or print) after acceptance, etc.) ? What would you recommend to your colleagues?
Here I provide a Scopus survey report of some notable full professors who do brain research in the speech-language-hearing field. The publication records in the past six years (2012-2018, as of March, 2018) are summarized as follows:
James Booth (Vanderbilt): 0 out of 45 papers published in JASA/JSLHR
Frank Guenther (Boston): 2 out of 33 papers in JASA/JSLHR
Nina Kraus (Northwestern): 3 out of 125 papers in JASA/JSLHR
Ravi Krishnan (Purdue): 0 out of 19 papers in JASA/JSLHR
Patricia Kuhl (Washington): 2 out of 31 papers in JASA/JSLHR
Kelly Tremblay (Washington): 2 out of 21 papers in JASA/JSLHR
The combined stats account for only about 3.3% of the total number of papers in JASA and JSLHR in the last six-year period. If we count only the brain research articles (e.g., ERP, MEG, fMRI studies), the actual percentage is much lower. Clearly, these well-established professors in the field rarely submitted their papers to JASA or JSLHR in the recent years. The records show that there are other journals with higher journal impact factors (e.g., Brain and Language, Neuropsychologia, Ear and Hearing, Hearing Research) that are probably considered better suited for their articles. I suspect a similar situation can be found in other sub-fields such as autism research.
Data sources
· Booth
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=resultslist&authorId=35277932900&zone=
· Guenther
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=resultslist&authorId=7003640507&zone=
· Kraus
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=resultslist&authorId=7102321398&zone=
· Krishnan
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=resultslist&authorId=7102443538
· Kuhl
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=resultslist&authorId=7007145472&zone=
· Tremblay
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=AuthorProfile&authorId=7003265426&zone=
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