Use of faculty publication lists and ISI citation data to identify a core list of journals with local importance

A method was developed to rank journals in a specific subject area, molecular and cellular biology (MCB), in order to create a core list of journals for the MCB faculty of the Pennsylvania State University. The core list of journals was needed as the first step in a larger serials evaluation process. The method did not require use data, but incorporated various quality measures, including publication in journals by Penn State faculty, citings of journals by Penn State faculty, and Journal Citation Report data from ISI. This study produced a core list of 50 MCB journals, as well as other benefits. Although the list of core MCB journals derived from this study is specific to the needs of Penn State faculty, the method could be adapted to other situations.