The Publication Forum's mission
The Publication Forum enhances the transparency and evidence-based steering of the research system. It enables the examination of publishing activities, especially from the perspective of quality, in a way that accounts for the varying publication practices, types and languages of different disciplines.
The Publication Forum maintains a Finnish assessment and classification system of publication channels in cooperation with the research community. The Publication Forum:
- assesses scientific publication channels,
- produces and maintains a national publication channel database, and
- supports research assessment, research organisations’ development work and national science policy.
The Publication Forum’s classification levels are also used in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s publication data collection and the universities' funding model to support the assessment of peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Classification based on the research community's expertise
The Publication Forum’s classification is based on expert assessments in individual fields of science. The assessments are carried out by panels consisting of researchers and experts of the Finnish research community, who assess the publication channels of their fields based on common criteria. This makes it possible to factor in different disciplines' publication practices, formats and languages in the classification.
Based on the assessment, publication channels are placed at levels that describe their scientific status in their respective fields.
Read more about the classification levels
Principles of assessing publication channels
The Publication Forum’s classification levels are based on ideas of scientific publication channels and their assessment widely shared by the research community. The assessment accounts for differences between disciplines in such as their publication formats, languages and methods. The Publication Forum's assessment complements assessment methods based on citation analyses by bringing expertise specific to individual disciplines and a qualitative perspective to bear on the assessment. The panels' assessments are guided by the following principles:
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Quality and impact of publication channels vary
Differences between channels are visible in the average quality and impact of the research they publish.
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Assessment is based on the publication channel's average level, not on individual publications
The panels assess publication channels based on the average level of their publications. However, the level of an individual publication may be higher or lower than this average in terms of its quality or impact.
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International appreciation is an important criterion
While the Publication Forum is a national system and the panels consist of researchers working in Finnish research organisations, the panels assess publication channels primarily on the basis of their international appreciation and impact.
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Domestic publication channels can also have a high rating
Especially in fields where the research focuses on Finland or Finnish society, a Finnish publication channel may represent the highest level in the field. The panels may also place at level 2 domestic publication channels that are particularly highly appreciated by the international research community.
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While openness does not determine quality alone, it may affect the assessment
Open access increases the accessibility and impact of research outcomes. If publication channels that are candidates for level 2 are otherwise equally well respected, the panels may prioritise in their assessment channels that offer immediate open access and digital preservation sustainably. In this case, the panels also pay attention to whether or not the author’s fees are reasonable.
Using the Publication Forum classification
The Publication Forum classification is intended for examining research organisations' publishing activities. It is not intended for assessing the quality of individual researchers, individual publications or small publication volumes. The Publication Forum’s classification is one of the tools for assessing research.
The classification should not be used as a basis for recruiting, rewarding or assessing personal performance, for example, and strict publication criteria or targets tied to the JUFO levels should not be set for researchers.
Also read more about the principles of responsible researcher assessment
Limitations of using the Publication Forum classification
In keeping with national and international recommendations, assessment of research should primarily be based on qualitative expert assessment, which can be supported by responsible use of quantitative indicators. The Publication Forum's Steering Group recommends that the number of publications or citations should not be used as an assessment criterion. This way, undesirable impacts and practices that are questionable from a research ethics viewpoint can be avoided.
In addition to the principles of assessing research, it is important to consider the following limitations when using the JUFO classification:
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Level quotas
The Publication Forum's Expert Panels cannot place all publication channels used and valued by the research community at level 2. The panels have to make choices within set level quotas. The purpose of the quotas is to balance out the classification between different disciplines. The quotas are calculated based on the publication volume.
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Roughly defined levels
Well-established publication channels of high scientific quality that meet the Publication Forum's assessment criteria are accepted for level 1. Publication channels of different disciplines regarded as being of the highest standard and most impactful are selected for level 2.
Level 1 is much wider than level 2 and consequently covers high-quality publication channels that differ from each other. The difference between the levels is based on the average assessment of publication channels and should not be interpreted as a quality difference between individual publications. High-quality research is published on channels at both levels, and there may also be significant variations in the quality and impact of individual publications within the same publication channel.
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Differences between disciplines
The Publication Forum classification strives to account for all fields of science equally. This is why it does not fully correspond to a classification drawn up exclusively based on the principles or special characteristics of each field. The distribution of levels varies between disciplines. The publication volumes of researchers in publication channels with a higher rating also vary between different fields and even within a single field. These differences stem from the disciplines' different publication practices as well as their research questions and methods.
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Relationship with impact factors
In many disciplines where journals indexed to international reference databases cover a large part of publishing activities, the impact and appreciation of journals are often measured with the Journal Impact Factor (JIF).
In the Publication Forum, Expert Panels balance out the classification between different disciplines. The JIF values vary considerably from field to field, and panels do not always follow the ranking of impact factors when placing journals at different levels. At level 2, the panels have also often favoured journals that publish original research, even if review journals might have a higher JIF value.
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Levels are updated
The levels of publication channels are reviewed regularly. A publication channel's level may change during or between assessment periods, which is why the classification valid at any one time should be taken into account in the assessment.
This is how the Publication Forum works
Publication channels are assessed by panels specific to each field of science, whose work is guided by the Publication Forum's Steering Group. The Secretariat sees to the practical activities, coordination of assessment work and development of the Publication Forum.
Assessment panels
The Publication Forum's level categories are assessed by 23 panels specific to individual fields as well as Panel 24, which is multidisciplinary. The panel members comprise almost 300 experts from Finnish universities and research institutes. The panels assess scientific publication channels of their fields and determine their levels based on the Publication Forum's assessment criteria.
Read more about the panels
Steering Group
The Publication Forum's Steering Group is responsible for key policies on maintaining and developing the classification. It makes decisions on principles related to the assessment criteria and development of activities, monitors the conduct of assessments, and appoints assessment panels at the beginning of their terms.
The Steering Group members comprise experts from the main fields of science and representatives from research organisations and research administration. The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies' Board appoints the Steering Group for a four-year term.
Read more about the Steering Group's tasks and members
Secretariat
The Publication Forum's Secretariat coordinates the Forum's work at the practical level. It supports the assessment panels' work, prepares matters to be discussed by the Steering Group, and takes care of the Publication Forum's day-to-day work. Additionally, the Secretariat maintains the publication channel database, handles the Publication Forum's communications, and participates in developing the service.
See the contact details of Secretariat members
JUFO portal
The publication channels assessed by the Publication Forum are accessible in a single service through the JUFO portal. You can search the JUFO portal for information on scholarly publication series, conferences and book publishers covered by the Publication Forum's classification system. As a member of the research community, you can also submit proposals for adding new publication channels or changing the information and classifications of existing channels.