Scholarly journals provide the primary means through which researchers in all academic fields share information with their peers. The vast majority of these periodicals appear quarterly, but the frequency of publication can range from weekly issues to a single annual volume.
The content of these journals is directed at a limited and readily identifiable audience of academics, usually linked to membership in a particular scholarly or professional association. The journal's scope can be very broad, as is the case with journals like Science and Nature, which publish articles in all areas of the physical, life, and social sciences. Or the scope can be quite narrow, as in the case of journals like Children's Literature in Education and Journal of High Resolution Chromatography.
Inclusion of articles in these publications is controlled through the peer review process, a double-blind procedure, whereby an editor distributes a manuscript from an anonymous author to two or three anonymous reviewers who determine whether the manuscript meets the disciplinary and editorial standards to merit publication in the journal.
For the most part, the primary purpose of scholarly journals is to establish the academic credibility of individual faculty members within a particular discipline or field of study. In this regard, some journals are considered to be more prestigious than others, with certain academic disciplines requiring that an individual get published in one or more these key periodicals before receiving tenure.
Along with articles, these journals often contain book reviews of monographs (books published by university or specialty presses) pertinent to the academic interests of their readers. As you might expect, these reviews are written by scholars with expertise in the particular field reflected in the book being reviewed.
The financial support for producing scholarly journals comes from a variety of sources, including grants from national research funding agencies, professional association membership fees, and through subscriptions to academic libraries and individual researchers.
Even though the realm of scholarly publishing can appear to be rather esoteric, anyone can get published in a scholarly journal. In fact it is becoming more common for undergraduate students to work towards getting published in one of these journals, as a means of standing out amongst their peers when it comes to applying for graduate schools, professional programs, or for scholarship funds.
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Source by Robert A. Campbell, Ph.D.
