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OASIS

What are journal indexes?

An index is a list of items pulled together for a purpose. Journal indexes (also called bibliographic indexes or bibliographic databases) are lists of journals, organized by discipline, subject, or type of publication.

Journals included in an index are considered of higher quality than journals that are not. This is because journals have to go through a vetting process to be included, or indexed, in reputable bibliographic databases.

In the Walden Library, journal indexes are online bibliographic databases.

Indexing is one criteria to consider, along with peer review status and journal impact, when choosing a journal in which to publish.

Note: Journals indexed in certain online databases meet research dissemination standards developed by the Office of Research and Doctoral Services (ORDS). Not every database in the Library meets these standards. For more information about which online databases meet ORDS indexing standards, please review the Publication Guidelines on the Office of Research and Doctoral Services's Research Dissemination: Publication RDS page.

Identify where a journal is indexed

You can use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory to identify where a journal is indexed. Ulrich's lists journal details for a wide variety of journals, and is the best place to start your search for most journal information.

  1. From the Library homepage, click on the Start Your Research tab at the top of the page.


     
  2. In the Search by database box, click on the link for Ulrich's: Verify Peer Review.


     
  3. Enter the journal title in the search box and click Search.

    Note: You may need to log in with your MyWalden username and password.
     
  4. Click on the journal title in the search results.


     
  5. Scroll down the journal information page to the Abstracting & Indexing section.
  6. Click on Abstracting & Indexing to open a list of databases where the journal is indexed.


     
  7. You will see a list of Abstracting & Indexing databases. The database company will be listed (such as EBSCOhost), along with specific individual databases from that database company (such as Education Abstracts, Education Source, and ERIC).

Note: Journals may be indexed in multiple databases.