Information Systems Publications
A Classification
Version 0.8 of 10 March 1995
(c) Roger Clarke, Australian National University, 1995
This document may be copied, provided that it is copied in its entirety,
including this notice and the qualifications in the preliminary text.
Preamble
There are enormous difficulties in classifying and evaluating the kinds of
journals and proceedings in which information systems literature appears. This
document contains a necessarily personal evaluation, intended as a guide to my
graduate students and junior colleagues. That said, it might as well be up on
the web for all to see. I welcome feedback, especially constructive
criticism.
Note that:
- omission of a journal or conference means the list is incomplete; it is
not an implied criticism of the journal or conference;
- once-off or occasional conferences and series are not included;
- the classification into AA, A, B and C is mine alone. It roughly
corresponds to the 'tiers' identified in relevant papers (see the reference
list at the end), but the allocation is heavily subjective and personal, and
there's plenty of scope for argument, especially at the margins;
- the sequence within classifications is intended to be meaningful, but in
most cases the differences are marginal and impressionistic; and
- the list is provisional, and subject to updating and change at any
time.
The Classification Scheme
1. Discipline
There are journals which clearly belong to the IS discipline. Some of these
publish in any area of the IS discipline, whereas others are focussed on
specific cluster of topics. The sub-classification within IS is arbitrary, and
subject to re-consideration and change; it would be valuable to cross-relate
it to, say, the Barki et al. schema.
Other journals belong to cognate disciplines, which are by and large of longer
standing than IS, and represent reference disciplines for IS.
Computer Science represents an especial difficulty. In general, I have tended
to leave out rather more CS journals than a more technically oriented IS
academic would do. It's not meant to be dismissive; it's to keep the list
manageable, and reflect my own interests and expertise.
2. The Form of Publication
I use the conventional distinction among:
- refereed journals, which have formalised review processes;
- professional journals, which have formalised editorial processes possibly
supported by light refereeing;
- academic conference proceedings, which have review processes of varying
intensity and quality; and
- professional and industry conference proceedings, which are very uneven in
regard to quality control processes and quality.
3. The Level of Publication
- AA (absolut Spitzenklasse);
- A-grade (high-quality);
- B-grade (quality, refereed);
- C-grade (lightly refereed or just subject to editorial control).
Generally, refereed journals are AA (a few), A or B; and professional journals
are B (a few) or C. Conference proceedings are AA (one), A, B or C. IS is
unusual in this respect, in having several very highly-rated sets of conference
proceedings.
AA LEVEL
IS Journals with Broad Coverage
Journals in Cognate Disciplines Which Publish IS Papers
Conference Proceedings
- International Conference in Information Systems - ICIS (marginal)
A LEVEL
IS Journals with Broad Coverage
IS Journals With Tight Focus - Business Areas
Journals in Cognate Disciplines Which Publish IS Papers
Organisational Behaviour:
Management:
Computer Science:
Computers and Law:
Accounting Information Systems
Economics, Sociology and Policy of Information Technology
Conference Proceedings
- Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)
- Pacific Research Institute for Information Systems and Management
(PRIISM)
B LEVEL
IS Journals with Broad Coverage
IS Journals With Tight Focus - Business Area
- Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM)
Journals in Cognate Disciplines Which Publish IS Papers
- Computer Science:
- Computers and Law:
- Accounting Information Systems
- Economics, Sociology and Policy of Information Technology
-
Policy
(Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney)
Conference Proceedings
- IFIP World Congress
- European Conference in Information Systems (ECIS)
- IFIP Conferences, especially TC8 and WG8.2
- Accountants Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ)
- Australian Conference in Information Systems (ACIS)
- academic conferences and symposia in specialist areas, which are subject
to a refereeing process
C LEVEL
IS Journals with Broad Coverage
IS Journals With Tight Focus - Business Area
IS Journals With Tight Focus - Implications
Journals in Cognate Disciplines Which Publish IS Papers
- Computer Science:
- Computers and Law:
- Australasian Privacy Law & Policy Report
Conference Proceedings
- conferences which involve combinations of academics, professionals and
industry perspectives and objectives
References
Here are a few articles which deal with evaluations of IS journals.
Alavi M. & Carlson P. 'A Review orf MIS Research and Disciplinary
Development' J. Mngt Inf. Syst. 8,4 (Spring 1992) 45-62
Barki H., Rivard S. & Talbot J. 'An Information Systems Keyword
Classification Scheme' MIS Quarterly 12,2 (June 1988) 298-311
Barki H., Rivard S. & Talbot J. 'A Keyword Classification Scheme for IS
Research Literature: An Update' MIS Quarterly 17,2 (June 1993) 209-226
Culnan M.J. 'The Intellectual Structure of Management Information Systems,
1979-1982: A Co-Citation Analysis' Management Science 32,2 (February 1986)
156-172
Culnan M.J. 'Mapping the Intellectual Structure of MIS, 1980-1985: A
Co-Citation Analysis' MIS Quarterly 11,3 (September 1987) 340-353
Culnan M.J. & Swanson E.B. 'Research in Management Information Systems,
1980-1984: Points of Work and Reference' MIS Quarterly 10,3 (September 1986)
289-302
Doke E.R. & Luke R.H. 'Perceived Quality of CIS/MIS Journals Among
Faculty: Publishing Hierarchies' J. Comp. Inf. Syst. 28,4 (Summer 1987)
30-33
Gillenson M.L. & Stutz J.D. 'Academic Issues in MIS: Journals and Books'
MIS Quarterly 15,4 (December 1991) 447-452
Hamilton S. & Ives B. 'Knowledge Utilization Among MIS Researchers' MIS
Quarterly 6,4 (December 1982) 61-77
Hamilton S. & Ives B. 'The Journal Communication Systems for MIS Research'
Data Base 14,2 (Winter 1983) 3-14
Holsapple C.W., Johnson L.E., Manakyan H. & Tanner J. 'A Citation Analysis
of Business Computing Research Journals' Inf. & Mngt 25 (1993)
231-244
Jackson W.M. & Nath R. 'Publication Patterns of MIS Researchers'
Interface 11,2 (Summer 1989) 15-20
Keen P.G.W. 'MIS Research: Reference Disciplines and Cumulative Tradition'
Proc. 1st Int'l Conf. Inf. Syst., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 1980,
9-18
Koong K.S. & Weistroffer H.R. 'Faculty Usage of Management Information
Systems Journals: A Survey' J. Comp. Inf. Syst. 30,1 (Fall 1989) 1-4
Lending D.L. & Wetherbe J.C. 'Update on MIS Research: A Profile of
Leading Journals and U.S. Universities' Data Base 24, 4 (Summer 1992)
5-11
Omar & Goodwin (1991)
Tsai, Richards & Yellen (1991)
Vogel D.R. & Wetherbe J.C. 'MIS Research: A Profile of Leading Journals
and Universities' DataBase 16,1 (Fall 1984) 3-14
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