Where is the best place to publish science education research?
Keith S. Taber
| Outlet | Description | Notes |
| International Journal of Science Education | Top-tier general international science education journal | Historically associated with the European Science Education Research Association |
| Science Education | Top-tier general international science education journal | |
| Journal of Research in Science Teaching | Top-tier general international science education journal | Associated with NARST |
| Research in Science Education | Top-tier general international science education journal | Associated with the Australasian Science Education Research Association |
| Studies in Science Education | Leading journal for publishing in-depth reviews of topics in science education | |
| Research in Science and Technological Education | Respected general international science education journal | |
| International Journal of Science and Maths Education | Respected general international science education journal | Founded by the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan |
| Science Education International | Publishes papers that focus on the teaching and learning of science in school settings ranging from early childhood to university education | Published by the International Council of Associations for Science Education |
| Science & Education | Has foci of historical, philosophical, and sociological perspectives on science education | Associated with the International History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching Group |
| Journal of Science Teacher Education | Concerned with the preparation and development of science teachers | Associated with the Association for Science Teacher Education |
| International Journal of Science Education, Part B – Communication and Public Engagement | Concerned with research into science communication and public engagement / understanding of science | |
| Cultural Studies of Science Education | Concerned with science education as a cultural, cross-age, cross-class, and cross-disciplinary phenomenon | |
| Journal of Science Education and Technology | Concerns the intersection between science education and technology. | |
| Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research | Concerned with science education within specific disciplines and between disciplines. | Affiliated with the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University |
| Journal of Biological Education | For research specifically within biology education | Published for the Royal Society of Biology. |
| Journal of Chemical Education | A long-standing journal of chemistry education, which includes a section for Chemistry Education Research papers | Published by the American Chemical Society. |
| Chemistry Education Research and Practice | The leading research journal for chemistry education | Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry |
I was recently asked which was the best journal in which to seek publication of science education research. This was a fair question, given that I had been been warning of the large number of low quality journals now diluting the academic literature.
I had been invited to give a seminar talk to the Physics Education and Scholarship Section in the Department of Physics at Durham University. I had been asked to talk on the theme of 'Publishing research in science education'.
The talk considered the usual processes involved in submitting a paper to a research journal and the particular responsibilities involved for authors, editors and reviewers. In the short time available I said a little about ethical issues, including difficulties that can arise when scholars are not fully aware of, or decide to ignore, the proper understanding of academic authorship 1 . I also discussed some of the specific issues that can arise when those with research training in the natural sciences undertake educational research without any further preparation (for example, see: Why do natural scientists tend to make poor social scientists?), such as underestimating the challenge of undertaking valid experiments in educational contexts.
I had not intended to offer advice on specific journals for the very good reasons that
- there are a lot of journals
- my experience of them is very uneven
- I have biases!
- knowledge of journals can quickly become out of date when publishers change policies, or editorial teams change
However, it was pointed out that there does not seem to be anywhere where such advice is readily available, so I made some comments based on my own experience. I later reflected that some such guidance could be useful, especially to those new to research in the area.
I do, in the 'Research methodology' section of the site, offer some advice to the new researcher on 'Publishing research', that includes some general advice on things to consider when thinking about where to send your work:
Read about 'Selecting a research journal: Selecting an outlet for your research articles'
Although I name check some journals there, I did not think I should offer strong guidance for the reasons I give above. However, taking on board the comment about the lack of guidance readily available, I thought I would make some suggestions here, with the full acknowledgement that this is a personal perspective, and that the comments facility below will allow other views and potential correctives to my biases! If I have missed an important journal, or seem to have made a misjudgement, then please tell me and (more importantly) other readers who may be looking for guidance.
Publishing in English?
My focus here is on English language journals. There are many important journals that publish in other languages such as Spanish. However, English is often seen as the international language for reporting academic research, and most of the journals with the greatest international reach work in the English language.
These journals publish work from all around the world, which therefore includes research into contexts where the language of instruction is NOT English, and where data is collected, and often analysed, in the local language. In these cases, reporting research in English requires translating material (curriculum materials, questions posed to participants, quotations from learners etc.) into English. That is perfectly acceptable, but translation is a skilled and nuanced activity, and needs to be acknowledged and reported, and some assurance of the quality of translation offered (Taber, 2018).
Read about guidelines for good practice regarding translation in reporting research
Science research journal or science education journal?
Sometime science research journals will publish work on science education. However, not all science journals will consider this, and even for those that do, this tends to be an occasional event.
With the advent of open-access, internet accessible publishing, some academic publishers are offering journals with very wide scope (presumably as it is considered that in the digital age it is easier to find research without it needing to be in a specialist journal), however, authors should be wary of journals that have titles implying a specialist scientific focus but which seem to accept material from a wide range of fields, as this is one common indicator of predatory journals – that is, journals which do not use robust peer review (despite what they may claim) and have low quality standards.
There are some scientific journals with an interdisciplinary flavour which are not education journals per se, but are open to suitable submissions on educational topics. I am most familiar (disclosure of interest, being on the Editorial Board) is Foundations of Chemistry (published by Springer).
Science Education Journal or Education Journal?
Then, there is the question of whether to publish work in specialist science education journals or one of the many more general education journals. (There are too many to discuss them here.) General education journals will sometimes publish work from within science education, as long as they feel it is of high enough general interest to their readership. This may in part be a matter of presentation – if the paper is written so it is only understandable to subject specialists, and only makes recommendations for specialists in science education, it is unlikely to seem suitable for a more general journal.
On the other hand, just because research has been undertaken in science teaching and learning context, this may not make it of particular interest to science educators if the research aims, conceptualisation, conclusions and recommendations concern general educational issues, and anything that may be specific to science teaching and learning is ignored in the research – that is, if a science classroom was chosen just as a matter of convenience, but the work could have been just as well undertaken in a different curriculum context (Taber, 2013).
Research Journal or Professional Journal?
Another general question is whether it is best to send one's work to an academic research journal (offering more kudos for the author{s} if published) or a journal widely read by practitioners (but usually considered less prestigious when a scholar's academic record is examined for appointment and promotion). These different types of output usually have different expectations about the tone and balance of articles:
Read about Research journals and practitioner journals
Some work is highly theoretical, or is focussed on moving forward a research field – and is unlikely to be seen as suitable for a teacher's journal. Other useful work may have developed and evaluated new educational resources, but without critically exploring any educational questions in any depth. Information about this project would likely be of great interest to teachers, but is unlikely to meet the criteria to be accepted for publication in a research journal.
But what about a genuine piece of research that would be of interest to other researchers in the field, but also leads to strong recommendations for policy and practice? Here you do not have to choose one or other option. Although you cannot publish the same article in different journals, a research report sent to an academic journal and an article for teachers would be sufficiently different, with different emphases and weightings. For example, a professional journal does not usually want a critical literature review and discussion of details of data analysis, or long lists of references. But it may value vignettes that teachers can directly relate to, as well as exemplification of how recommendation might be followed through – information that would not fit in the research report.
Ideally, the research report would be completed and published first, and the article for the professional audience would refer to (and cite) this, so that anyone who does want to know more about the theoretical background and technical details can follow up.
Some examples of periodicals aimed at teachers (and welcoming work written by classroom teachers) include the School Science Review, (published by the Association for Science Education), Physics Education (published by the Institute of Physics) and the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine Education in Chemistry. Globally, there are many publications of this kind, often with a national focus serving teachers working in a particular curriculum context by offering articles directly relevant to the specifics of the local education contexts.
The top science education research journals
Having established our work does fit in science education as a field, and would be considered academic research, we might consider sending it to one of these journals
- International Journal of Science Education (IJSE)
- Science Education (SE)
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST)
- Research in Science Education (RiSE)
To my mind these are the top general research journals in the field.
IJSE is the journal I have most worked with, having published quite a few papers in the journal, and have reviewed a great many. I have been on the Editorial Board for about 20 years, so I may be biased here.2 IJSE started as the European Journal of Science Education and has long had an association with the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA – not to be confused with ASERA).
Strictly this journal is now known as IJSE Part A, as there is also a Part B which has a particular focus on 'Communication and Public Engagement' (see below). IJSE is published by Taylor and Francis / Routledge.
SE is published by Wiley.
JRST is also published by Wiley, and is associated with NARST.
RISE is published by Springer, and is associated with the Australasian Science Education Research Association (ASERA – not to be confused with ESERA)
N.A.R.S.T. originally stood for the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, where the Nation referred to was the USA. However, having re-branded itself as "a global organization for improving science teaching and learning through research" it is now simply known as NARST. In a similar way ESERA describes itself as "an European organisation focusing on research in science education with worldwide membership" and ASERA clams it "draws together researchers in science education from Australia, New Zealand and more broadly".
The top science education reviews journal
Another 'global' journal I hold in high esteem in Studies in Science Education (published by Taylor & Francis / Routledge) 3 .
This journal, originally established at the University of Leeds and associated with the world famous Centre for Studies in Science Education 4, is the main reviews journal in science education. It publishes substantive, critical reviews of areas of science education, and some of the most influential articles in the field have been published here.
Studies in Science Education also has a tradition of publishing detailed scholarly book reviews.
In my view, getting your work published in any of these five journals is something to be proud of. I think people in many parts of the world tend to know IJSE best, but I believe that in the USA it is often considered to be less prestigious than JRST and SE. At one time RISE seemed to have a somewhat parochial focus, and (my impression is) attracted less work from outside Australasia and its region – but that has changed now. 'Studies' seems to be better known in some contexts than other, but it is the only high status general science education journal that publishes full-length reviews (both systematic, and thematic perspectives), with many of its contributions exceeding the normal word-length limits of other top science education journals. This is the place to send an article based on that literature review chapter that thesis examiners praised for its originality and insight!
There are other well-established general journals of merit, for example Research in Science and Technological Education (published by Taylor & Francis / Routledge, and originally based at the University of Hull) and the International Journal of Science and Maths Education (published by Springer, and founded by the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan). The International Council of Associations for Science Education publishes Science Education International.
There are also journals with particular foci with the field of science education.
More specialist titles
There are also a number of well-regarded international research journals in science education which particular specialisms or flavours.
Science & Education (published by Springer) is associated with the International History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching Group 5, which as the name might suggest has a focus on science eduction with a focus on the nature of science, and "publishes research using historical, philosophical, and sociological approaches in order to improve teaching, learning, and curricula in science and mathematics".
The Journal of Science Teacher Education (published by Taylor & Francis / Routledge), as the name suggests is concerned with the preparation and development of science teachers. The journal is associated with the USA based Association for Science Teacher Education.
As suggested above, IJSE has a companion journal (also published by Taylor & Francis / Routledge), International Journal of Science Education, Part B – Communication and Public Engagement
Cultural Studies of Science Education (published by Springer) has a particular focus on science education "as a cultural, cross-age, cross-class, and cross-disciplinary phenomenon".
The Journal of Science Education and Technology (published by Springer) has a focus on the intersection between science education and technology.
Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research has a particular focus on science taught within and across disciplines. 6 Whereas most of the journals described here are now hybrid (which means articles will usually be behind a subscription/pay-wall, unless the author pays a publication fee), DISER is an open-access journal, with publication costs paid on behalf of authors by the sponsoring organisation: the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University.
This relatively new journal reflects the increasing awareness of the importance of cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in science itself. This is also reflected in notions of whether (or to what extent) science education should be considered part of a broader STEM education, and there are now journals styled as STEM education journals.
Science as part of STEM?
Read about STEM in the curriculum
Research within teaching and learning disciplines
Whilst both the Institute of Physics and the American Institute of Physics publish physics education journals (Physics Education and The Physics Teacher, respectively) neither publishes full length research reports of the kind included in research journals. The American Physical Society does publish Physical Review Physics Education Research as part of its set of Physical Review Journals. This is an on-line journal that is Open Access, so authors have to pay a publication fee.
The Journal of Biological Education (published by Taylor and Francis/Routledge) is the education journal of the Royal Society of Biology.
The Journal of Chemical Education is a long-established journal published by the American Chemical Society. It is not purely a research journal, but it does have a section for educational research and has published many important articles in the field. 7
Chemistry Education Research and Practice (published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, RSC) is purely a research journal, and can be considered the top international journal for research specifically in chemistry education. (Perhaps this is why there is a predatory journal knowingly called the Journal of Chemistry Education Research and Practice)
As CERP is sponsored by the RSC (which as a charity looks to use income to support educational and other valuable work), all articles in CERP are accessible for free on-line, but there are no publication charges for authors.
Not an exhaustive list!
These are the journals I am most familiar with, which focus on science education (or a science discipline education), publish serous peer-reviewed research papers, and can be considered international journals.
I know there are other discipline-based journals (e.g, biochemistry education, geology education) and indeed I expect there are many worthwhile places to publish that have slipped my mind or about which I am ignorant. Many regional or national journals have high standards and publish much good work. However, when it comes to research papers (rather than articles aimed primarily at teachers) academics usually get more credit when they publish in higher status international journals. It is these outlets that can best attract highly qualified editors and reviewers, and so peer review feedback tends to be most helpful 8, and the general standard of published work tends to be of a decent quality – both in terms of technical aspects, and its significance and originality.
There is no reason why work published in English is more important than work published in other languages, but the wide convention of publishing research for an international audience in English means that work published in English language journals probably gets wider attention globally. I have published a small number of pieces in other languages, but am primarily limited by my own restricted competence to only one language. This reflects my personal failings more than the global state of science education publishing!
A personal take – other viewpoints are welcome
So, this is my personal (belated) response to the question about where one should seek to publish research in science education. I have tried to give a fair account, but it is no doubt biased by my own experiences (and recollections), and so inadvertently subject to distortions and omissions.
I welcome any comments (below) to expand upon, or seek to correct, my suggested list, which might indeed make this a more useful listing for readers who are new to publishing their work. If you have had good (or bad) experiences with science education journals included in, or omitted from, my list, please share…
Sources cited:
- Taber, K. S. (2013). Three levels of chemistry educational research. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 14(2), 151-155. doi:10.1039/C3RP90003G. [Free access]
- Taber, K. S. (2018). Lost and found in translation: guidelines for reporting research data in an 'other' language. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 19, 646-652 doi:10.1039/C8RP90006J [Free access]
Notes
1 Academic authorship is understood differently to how the term 'author' is usually used: in most contexts, the author is the person who prepared (wrote, types, dictated) a text. In academic research, the authors of the research paper are those who made a substantial direct intellectual contribution to the work being reported. That is, an author need not contribute to the writing-up phase (though all authors should approve the text) as long as they have made a proper contribution to the substance of the work. Most journals have clear expectations that all deserving authors, and only those people, should be named as authors.
Read about academic authorship
2 For many years the journal was edited by the late Prof. John Gilbert, who I first met sometime in the 1984-5 academic year when I applied to join the University of Surrey/Roehampton Institute part-time teachers' programme in the Practice of Science Education, and he – as one of course directors – interviewed me. I was later privileged to work with John on some projects – so this might be considered as a 'declaration of interest'.
3 Again, I must declare an interest. For some years I acted as the Book Reviews editor for the journal.
4 The centre was the base for the highly influential Children's Learning in Science Project which undertook much research and publication in the field under the Direction of the late Prof. Ros Driver.
5 Another declaration of interest: at the time of writing I am on the IHPST Advisory Board for the journal.
6 Declaration of interest: I am a member of the DISER's Editorial Board
7 I have recently shown some surprise at one research article published in JChemEd where major problems seem to have been missed in peer review. This is perhaps simply an aberration, or may reflect the challenge of including peer-reviewed academic research in a hybrid publication that also publishes a range of other kinds of articles.
8 Peer-review evaluates the quality of submissions, in part to inform publication decisions, but also to provide feedback to authors on areas where they can improve a manuscript prior to publication.
Thank you very much for this compilation! I think the cost is also an important consideration. As a practising teacher doing educational research without being affiliated with a university, I find I cannot really submit my work in most (any?) of these. Have you got any advice for teachers like myself?
Most of the journals listed here follow a 'hybrid' publication model. Traditionally academic journals used to follow one of three models:
• Free to authors, but readers/libraries pay a subscription;
• Authors are charged a publication fee (which was sometimes based on page charges, so longer articles costed more)
• Sponsored, so costs were covered by a sponsor (Chemistry Education Research and Practice follows this model – neither author nor reader has to pay – but CERP's scope is limited to chemistry education. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research also has a sponsored model).
Most academic journals related to science education used to publish without charges to authors, but you had to pay to read the journal. There is a move to open access for good reasons, as much research is supported by public money (taxes!) so the work should be freely available to the public. For example, it makes sense that teachers should have access to relevant educational research that makes recommendations about teaching and is published in academic journals.
This makes sense -as long as you are working in a University or similar setting and have funding that covers publication costs. I have for some time worried about independent researchers in this model. Like you, I started publishing my research when teaching, so would not have had funds to pay publication costs.
However, we have not reached that point yet.
Hybrid journals publish some material open access (authors or their funders pay), but other articles are only accessible at a cost (readers or their institutions pay).
The hybrid model means you can submit to most of these journals and your work could be published at no cost to you. However, the published articles would be behind a pay-wall, so they are less accessible than open-access work. (Again, it is the independent researchers, such as teachers, who suffer, as they are unlikely to have institutional libraries paying the high subscriptions.) If you publish in these journals for free, you are still allowed to directly share your work with colleagues in limited ways (responding to personal requests for off-prints for example), but generally only readers with personal subscriptions to a journal or library access will be able to read your work.
So, you can still publish for free in most of these journals, but you cannot get open access publication for free. I agree that seems unfair to independent researchers, but – of course – someone has to cover the costs of publication.