Bibliometric Measures and Journal Characteristics of Leading Accounting and Finance Journals

Abstract

This study analyzes journal quality metrics and characteristics of leading accounting and finance journals in the Academic Journal Guide. The quality metrics analyzed are Journal Citation Reports (JCR), SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), and CiteScore. The characteristics analyzed are acceptance rates, issue frequency, journal longevity, number of reviewers, and review time. The findings show that accounting journal SNIP average ratings are higher, finance journal SJR ratings are higher, while the JCR measures are virtually identical. However, CiteScore measures of top-tier accounting journals are significantly higher than those of finance journals. Leading accounting journals are older and have higher acceptance rates. Leading finance journals have more issues, more referees, and longer initial reviews. The journal acceptance rate is the journal characteristic that is the most correlated with measures of journal quality. These findings could be beneficial for accounting and finance junior faculty when working towards promotion and tenure.