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Research on the evaluation of academic journals from a multidimensional fusion measurement perspective

Rongying Zhao (Research Center for Chinese Science Evaluation, School of Information and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China)
Weijie Zhu (Research Center for Chinese Science Evaluation, School of Information and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China)

The Electronic Library

ISSN: 0264-0473

Article publication date: 7 July 2023

Issue publication date: 24 July 2023

280

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis to evaluate the current situation of journals, examine the factors that influence their development, and establish an evaluation index system and model. The objective is to enhance the theory and methodologies used for journal evaluation and provide guidance for their positive development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses empirical data from economics journals to analyse their evaluation dimensions, methods, index system and evaluation framework. This study then assigns weights to journal data using single and combined evaluations in three dimensions: influence, communication and novelty. It calculates several evaluation metrics, including the explanation rate, information entropy value, difference coefficient and novelty degree. Finally, this study applies the concept of fuzzy mathematics to measure the final results.

Findings

The use of affiliation degree and fuzzy Borda number can synthesize ranking and score differences among evaluation methods. It combines internal objective information and improves model accuracy. The novelty of journal topics positively correlates with both the journal impact factor and social media mentions. In addition, journal communication power indicators compensate for the shortcomings of traditional citation analysis. Finally, the three-dimensional representative evaluation index serves as a reminder to academic journals to avoid the vortex of the Matthew effect.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a journal evaluation model comprising academic influence, communication power and novelty dimensions. It uses fuzzy Borda evaluation to address issues related to the weighing of single evaluation methods. This study also analyses the relationship of the three dimensions and offers insights for journal development in the new media era.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This research is supported by the National Social Science Found Major Project of China (No. 18ZDA325).

Citation

Zhao, R. and Zhu, W. (2023), "Research on the evaluation of academic journals from a multidimensional fusion measurement perspective", The Electronic Library, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 503-527. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-03-2023-0055

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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