Selection Criteria
Quality, originality, and importance of the scientific content are primary considerations. CSA/AAP Review Committee meets four times a year. About 250 titles, including new titles and re-reviews, are examined at each meeting. CSA/AAP editors performing journal evaluations have educational backgrounds relevant to their areas of responsibility as well as experience and education in information science. Every effort is made to assign journals to primary reviewers on the Committee who are knowledgeable about the subject and/or fluent in the language. Requesters are not informed of the specific date of the review because of the large number of titles to be reviewed and the possibility of changes to the schedule. Several weeks after the meeting, notifications are sent to editors/publishers for all titles selected for indexing. CSA/AAP reviews titles from the current lists of journals indexed in our databases that have been referred by indexers or other staff for reconsideration because they have changed emphasis or scope and may no longer meet the criteria for inclusion in them. Many factors are taken into account when evaluating journals for coverage, ranging from the qualitative to the quantitative. The journal's basic publishing standards, its editorial content, the international diversity of its authorship, and the citation data associated with it are all considered. By combining and interrelating the data, the editor is able to determine the journal's overall strengths and weaknesses. Timeliness of publication is a basic criterion in the evaluation process. CSA/AAP notes whether or not the journal follows international editorial conventions (informative journal titles, fully descriptive article titles and abstracts, complete bibliographic information for all cited references, and full address information for every author), which optimize retrievability of source articles. Application of the peer review process is another indication of journal standards and indicates overall quality of the research presented and the completeness of cited references. It is also recommended that, whenever possible, each article publish information on the funding source supporting the research presented. We look for international diversity among the contributing authors and the journal's editors and editorial advisory board members.
We need at least three consecutive current issues to complete an evaluation. Please send the most current issue of the journal, and then each subsequent issues as soon as each is published to the following address:
Publication Processing Department
Contemporary Science Association/AAP
30-18 50th Street,
Woodside, New York, 11377
USA