English Academic Journal Manuscript Router

v20260724

en-journal-workflow

This comprehensive routing skill guides users through the complex process of selecting the most appropriate English-language academic journal for their manuscript. It acts as a high-level meta-guide, moving beyond single-journal profiles. Users classify their work based on its contribution type (e.g., causal effect, new theory), methodological shape (e.g., structural, field experiment), target discipline (e.g., finance, marketing), and ultimate submission goal (e.g., top-5 venue). It provides actionable advice for re-framing and optimizing fit.

Academic Writing Journal Selection Economics Business Research Workflow

Get Skill

439 downloads

Overview

English econ / business journal workflow (en-journal-workflow)

Purpose

This is the routing skill. It does not replace a single-journal profile; it first classifies the manuscript by discipline, contribution type, method shape, and audience, then routes into the matching per-journal skill for fit and re-framing.

Resources to Load When Needed

If the venue is unclear, read ../../resources/worked-examples/venue-routing.md before choosing a target.
If two sibling fields look plausible, read ../../resources/exemplars/selection-patterns.md.
Before submission-ready advice, use ../../resources/official-source-map.md to open the current official author instructions for the chosen journal.

Ask four things first

Contribution type: new identification / causal effect, new theory or model, new measurement or method, new fact/anomaly, or integrative review?
Method shape: reduced-form causal, structural, pure theory/proof, econometric method, lab/field experiment, survey/SEM, qualitative/inductive, optimization/analytics, or design-science?
Discipline audience: general economics, a specific econ field, finance, accounting, strategy/OB/management, marketing, operations, or information systems?
Submission goal: swing for a top-5 / top-3 / elite-list venue, or optimize topic–venue fit and review odds at a strong field journal?

Quick routing

Manuscript signature	Prefer skill
General-interest econ, top-5 ambition	`american-economic-review` / `quarterly-journal-of-economics` / `journal-of-political-economy`
Theorem / new estimator with proofs	`econometrica` / `journal-of-economic-theory` / `econometric-theory`
Strong applied micro, narrower than top-5	`aej-applied-economics` / `review-of-economics-and-statistics` / `journal-of-human-resources`
Macro / growth / dynamics	`aej-macroeconomics` / `journal-of-monetary-economics` / `review-of-economic-dynamics` / `journal-of-economic-growth`
Micro theory / mechanism / games	`aej-microeconomics` / `journal-of-economic-theory` / `games-and-economic-behavior`
Policy-facing applied economics	`aej-economic-policy` / `journal-of-public-economics` / `economic-policy`
Trade / open economy / development	`journal-of-international-economics` / `journal-of-development-economics` / `world-development`
Econometric methods / applied econometrics	`journal-of-econometrics` / `journal-of-applied-econometrics` / `journal-of-business-and-economic-statistics` / `quantitative-economics`
Field econ (labor/health/urban/enviro/law)	`journal-of-labor-economics` / `journal-of-health-economics` / `journal-of-urban-economics` / `journal-of-environmental-economics-and-management` / `journal-of-law-and-economics`
Finance, top-3 ambition	`journal-of-finance` / `journal-of-financial-economics` / `review-of-financial-studies`
Finance, elite field	`review-of-finance` / `journal-of-financial-and-quantitative-analysis` / `journal-of-financial-intermediation` / `journal-of-corporate-finance`
Banking / markets / international finance	`journal-of-banking-and-finance` / `journal-of-financial-markets` / `journal-of-international-money-and-finance` / `journal-of-empirical-finance`
Management theory (no data)	`academy-of-management-review` / `academy-of-management-annals`
Management empirics, theory-driven	`academy-of-management-journal` / `journal-of-management-en` / `journal-of-management-studies`
Strategy / firm performance	`strategic-management-journal` / `organization-science`
Org theory / sociology of orgs / qualitative	`organization-studies` / `human-relations` / `administrative-science-quarterly`
HRM / international business / innovation	`human-resource-management` / `journal-of-international-business-studies` / `research-policy`
Entrepreneurship	`journal-of-business-venturing` / `entrepreneurship-theory-and-practice`
Marketing modeling vs. behavior	`marketing-science` / `journal-of-marketing-research` vs `journal-of-consumer-research` / `journal-of-consumer-psychology`
Marketing strategy / broad	`journal-of-marketing` / `journal-of-the-academy-of-marketing-science`
Accounting (archival/analytical/markets)	`the-accounting-review` / `journal-of-accounting-research` / `journal-of-accounting-and-economics` / `review-of-accounting-studies`
Accounting (interpretive/critical)	`accounting-organizations-and-society` / `contemporary-accounting-research`
OM / OR / analytics	`management-science` / `operations-research` / `manufacturing-and-service-operations-management` / `production-and-operations-management` / `journal-of-operations-management`
Information systems	`mis-quarterly` / `information-systems-research` / `journal-of-management-information-systems` / `journal-of-the-association-for-information-systems` / `informs-journal-on-computing`

Sibling-Journal Disambiguation

Confusable targets	Decision rule
AER/QJE/JPE vs field journals	Use a top-5 only when the paper changes a broad economics conversation; strong identification alone is not enough.
JF/JFE/RFS vs finance field journals	Decide whether the contribution is asset pricing, corporate finance, intermediation, microstructure, or international finance before choosing prestige tier.
AMR vs AMJ vs ASQ	AMR is theory-only; AMJ is empirical theory-building; ASQ expects organization-theory depth and often sociological leverage.
JM vs JMR vs Marketing Science	JM is strategy/managerial broad contribution; JMR is empirical/methodological marketing research; Marketing Science expects modeling, optimization, or quantitative marketing depth.
MISQ/ISR vs CS venues	Use IS journals only when the information-systems theory or organizational technology contribution is central; route pure algorithms to CS/AI.

Decision rules

Correlation without identification or mechanism: fix the contribution before swinging for a top-5/top-3 venue.
"First to study X in context Y" is not a contribution at elite venues — name the conceptual or methodological advance, or route to a field journal.
A new factor / anomaly without multiple-testing and out-of-sample discipline is not a finance top-3 paper.
Management empirics with no theoretical contribution belong below AMJ/AMR, or need reframing.
A modeling/optimization paper with no managerial-theory payoff routes to OM/OR/IS analytics venues, not to AMJ.
Always enter the single-journal skill's official-submission checklist before submitting; never rely on a stale template.

Output format

[Top journal skill] <skill-name>
[Alt 1] <skill-name> (reason)
[Alt 2] <skill-name> (reason)
[Do not submit to] <journal> (one-line mismatch reason)
[Biggest current gap] topic / theory / identification / mechanism / formatting / official requirements
[Next step] invoke <skill-name> for single-venue fit and re-framing

Info

Category Soft Skills

Name en-journal-workflow

Version v20260724

Size 7.16KB

Source brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills

Updated At 2026-07-28