Comparing General Interest and Specialist Accounting Journals

What is it about?

Journals that publish accounting research can be separated into two categories, general interest and specialist journals. General interest journals claim to publish research that cover a wide variety of topics and methods; specialist journals tend to have a specific topic or method that they focus on publishing. This study evaluates top general interest and specialist accounting journals to see if each journal is publishing research that is consistent with its categorization. In other words, do general interest journals really publish articles that cover a wide variety of topics and methods and do specialist journals really focus on specific topics and methods? The results of the study suggest that general interest journals often do not publish articles that cover a variety of topics and methods and that specialist journals often publish more cited research than general interest journals.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This study is important for two main reasons. First, it provides helpful information for decisions that have to be made. It helps researchers decided where is best for them to publish their research. Researchers will have a better idea of which journal publishes research that is the best fit for their paper. It also helps universities make informed decisions concerning faculty evaluation. Many universities evaluate their faculty based on the journal in which a faculty member has published. This study will help universities decide which journals carry the most weight. Second, this study shows that general interest journals are not publishing a wide variety of articles. Since these journals are often the journals that many universities consider the best, researchers may focus on topics that will get published in the top general interest journals. This could lead to a much narrow focus of research. This study makes people aware that this may be a problem.