The journal list and its use: motivation, perceptions, and reality

The Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston uses lists of journals as part of its process to evaluate and reward the research productivity of its faculty. The creation of the journal lists was proposed for three reasons: to target faculty research as to which journal outlets the College deemed acceptable, to encourage cross-disciplinary research, and to decrease the internal politicizing of the journals themselves. This article discusses the history and use of the lists as well as surveying faculty perceptions. The use of the journal list is imperfect. Faculty seem unclear as to the use of the lists and there does not seem to have been a substantial increase in cross-discipline research. While the tenor of the discussions about the merits of a journal has changed, interdepartmental politicizing of journals continues. Consistency of annual reviews, however, has increased substantially.