What are Class A Journals (Complete Guide to Journal Types)
Today, let’s comprehensively understand various types of journals: legal journals, illegal journals, core journals, ordinary journals, national level, provincial level, Class A, Class B, Class C, Type I, Type II, Type III…
I. Legal Journals
- Legal journals include non-formal journals and formal journals:
Non-formal journals refer to those that have obtained an “Internal Newspaper Permit” through administrative department review and are used for internal exchange within the industry, generally not publicly distributed.
Formal journals are approved by the National Press and Publication Administration and the National Science and Technology Commission within a specified quota and are assigned a “Domestic Unified Serial Number” (CN number, while ISSN is the international serial number used to number publications for retrieval purposes). These journals can be publicly distributed.
- There are four main types of illegal journals:
Publications printed without approval from the press and publication departments; publications illegally imported from abroad without approval from the National Press and Publication Administration; publications that forge and假冒 others’ names; publications that buy and sell book numbers, journal numbers, and edition numbers.
Legal journals, except for non-formal ones, have正规 “CN numbers” and “ISSN numbers.” Illegal journals either lack these numbers or use fake ones. Therefore, when searching for journals to publish in, everyone must verify the journal numbers on正规 websites to avoid being deceived.
II. Core Journals and Ordinary Journals
Core journals are the main publications in a particular discipline, generally containing substantial professional information, high quality, representing the development level of the professional discipline, and valued by readers in that field. Core journals are divided into dual-core journals and single-core journals, based on the number of recognized core journal selection systems.
Main core journals include:
Peking University Library (PKU Core, Chinese Core Journals)
Nanjing University “Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI)”
Chinese Science and Technology Information Institute “Chinese Science and Technology Core Journals”
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Documentation and Information Center “Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Core Journals”
Chinese Academy of Sciences Documentation and Information Center “Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD) Source Journals”
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Documentation and Information Center “Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Core Journals” (CASS Core)
Wanfang Data Co., Ltd. “Chinese Core Journals Selection Database”
SCI: American “Science Citation Index”
SSCI: American “Social Sciences Citation Index”
EI: “Engineering Index”
CPCI: “Conference Proceedings Citation Index”
Ordinary journals (non-core journals) include all journals other than core journals. Their professionalism and influence are far less than core journals, and the difficulty of publication is relatively small. National-level journals and provincial-level journals are both ordinary journals, but national core publications belong to core journals.
III. National-level Journals and Provincial-level Journals
National-level journals are those sponsored by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and their subordinate departments, or by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, various democratic parties, and national people’s organizations, as well as journals sponsored by national first-level professional societies.
Provincial-level journals are academic journals sponsored by various departments, offices, bureaus, institutes, provincial social groups, and institutions of各省, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, as well as higher education institutions. They are registered with the press and publication departments and are publicly distributed domestically and internationally.
The distinction between national-level and provincial-level journals is primarily based on the sponsoring authority. There is not much difference in journal quality, influence, and professionalism between national and provincial levels. However, it is important to note that national重点 publications are different from national-level journals; their级别 is higher than national-level.
IV. Class A, B, and C Journals
Strictly speaking, there is no official classification of Class A, B, and C journals domestically or internationally. This classification method is used by universities according to their own standards. Generally, journal levels are Class A > Class B > Class C. Class A and B journals are mostly domestic and international core journals, while Class C journals are ordinary journals. However, requirements vary among schools. Some journals may be Class A in general universities but only Class C in key universities.
V. Type I, Type II, and Type III Journals
Type I journals are national core journals.
Type II journals are other core journals besides national core journals.
Type III journals are ordinary journals.
VI. Publication Cycle (Frequency) Classification
Semi-monthly: Publication cycle of 15 days.
Monthly: Publication cycle of 30 days.
Bimonthly: Publication cycle of 2 months.
Quarterly: Publication cycle of one quarter, 3 months.
Semi-annual: Publication cycle of 6 months.
Annual: Publication cycle of 1 year.
⬅️ Go back