3 Reasons Academic Journals Are Important

Canadian Center of Science and Education (CCSE) is an organization that supports a wide range of research initiatives. Through its work, CCSE has made a major difference in the lives of the students, scientists, and faculty members that it has impacted with its activities. One of the initiatives of the organization is the publication of scholarly journals. These publications are as important as ever before, as they allow researchers to share their findings with the rest of the world.

Now, you might wonder why submitting an article to a scholarly journal is more effective than, say, posting it online. This is a valid question, considering how popular the Internet has become over the last decade or so. Here are three reasons why scholarly journals are still relevant and why, ultimately, they are the best places in which researchers can share their findings with others.

1. The most credible of scholarly publications are peer-reviewed. This means that experts in whatever fields are in question (biology, psychology, philosophy, etc.) look over each article before it is accepted for publication. This is important for several reasons. First of all, it allows these professionals to ensure that the information shared is accurate. The peer-review process also holds each article up to a high standard. As a result, these articles are written with great care in an effort to clearly and effectively convey the findings of research initiatives.
2. Finding reliable information about some disciplines is not always easy. Scholarly journals, though, are organized by field. This means that an individual who is looking for the latest research in, say, the agricultural sciences is able to pinpoint this information relatively easily. Even with the help of Google and other search engines, finding this specific information online is no simple feat (unless, of course, the journal has made its catalogue of articles accessible on the World Wide Web).
3. Publishing in a credible, peer-reviewed journal is a major boost to an individual’s career. Anyone can create a blog or website, and anyone can post whatever kind of information they would like on these platforms. But the system of checks and balances that the peer-review program puts into place ensures that the details shared by authors of articles are accurate and reliable. As such, publication in a scholarly journal is validation of sorts; it is a sign that a researcher’s work is valuable to their field.

Academic journals may seem outdated in a world that revolves around the 24 hour media cycle and an endless collection of blog posts and online articles. But the truth is that there is much value in the peer-review process. The professionals who undertake this process understand that it allows researchers to put their best foot forward, so to speak, when sharing their discoveries with the world.

Scholarly journals and other such publications have long held an important role in the academic field. This role is not anticipated to diminish anytime soon. As such, researchers, academics, and similar professionals are encouraged to take advantage of the prestige and information that are provided by publishing in and reading these journals.