Guides: WR 4111: Research Methods In Writing: Journals

Peer Reviewed or Refeered

What are "peer-reviewed" journals?

A peer-reviewed journal is a respected publication. Before articles are published within these types of journals, they are sent by the editors of the journal to other scholars in the field ("peers"), often anonymously, to get feedback on the quality of the scholarship, review research methods, as well as relevance or importance to the field. The article may be accepted, often with revisions suggested, or rejected for publication. Many peer-reviewed journals have low acceptance rates.

Peer-reviewed articles are typically substantial in length (often 10 pages or more) and typically have many citations.

To find peer reviewed articles in WPI Library Search, enter your keywords and then choose the Peer-Reviewed Journals filter on the left.

Composition and the Teaching of Writing

Examples of Journals on Composition & the Teaching of Writing:

College Composition and Communication
College Composition and Communication publishes research and scholarship in rhetoric and composition studies that supports college teachers in reflecting on and improving their practices in teaching writing and that reflects the most current scholarship and theory in the field.
College English
College English is the professional journal for the college scholar-teacher. CE publishes articles about literature, rhetoric-composition, critical theory, creative writing theory and pedagogy, linguistics, literacy, reading theory, pedagogy, and professional issues related to the teaching of English.
Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature Language Composition and Culture
In spite of the large role that teaching plays in the lives of most English studies scholars, no other mainstream journal has devoted itself exclusively to pedagogical issues spanning the entire discipline. Pedagogy has stepped into this breach, covering all areas of English studies from literature and literary criticism to composition to cultural studies. It seeks to reverse the long history of the marginalization of teaching and of the scholarship produced around it.
Composition Forum 
Composition Forum is a journal for scholars and teachers interested in the investigation of composition theory and its relation to the teaching of writing at the post-secondary level. The journal features articles that explore the intersections of composition theory and pedagogy, including essays that examine specific pedagogical theories or that examine how theory could or should inform classroom practices, methodology, and research into multiple literacies. Composition Forum also publishes articles that describe specific and innovative writing program practices and writing courses, reviews of relevant books in composition studies, and interviews with notable scholars and teachers who can address issues germane to our theoretical approach.
Journal of College Literacy and Learning
The Journal of College Literacy and Learning (JCLL) (ISSN 0738-9523) welcomes material related to advancing scholarship on reading, writing, and academic success at the postsecondary level. JCLL is published by the College Literacy and Learning Special Interest Group of the International Literacy Association and is intended to provide a forum for the exchange of information regarding research, theory, and practice.
Reading and Writing Quarterly
Reading and Writing Quarterly provides direction for educating preschool through grade twelve students for literacy. It disseminates critical information to improve instruction for regular and special education students who have or who are at-risk for having difficulty learning to read and write. Interdisciplinary in scope, the journal addresses the causes, prevention, evaluation, and remediation of reading and writing difficulties in regular and special education settings. It encourages manuscripts on teaching the reading and writing processes to students experiencing difficulties in these areas. Possible topics include adjustments for language-learning style, literature-based reading programs, teaching reading and writing in the mainstream, study strategies, language-centered computer curricula, oral language connections to literacy, cooperative learning approaches to reading and writing, direct instruction, curriculum-based assessment, the impact of environmental factors on instructional effectiveness, and improvement of self-esteem.
Journal of Basic Writing
JBW publishes articles related to basic and second-language writing using a variety of approaches: speculative discussions that venture fresh interpretations; essays that draw heavily on student writing as supportive evidence for new observations; research reports written in non-technical language that offer observations previously unknown or unsubstantiated; and collaborative writings that provocatively debate more than one side of a critical controversy.
Research in the Teaching of English
Research in the Teaching of English (RTE) is a broad-based, multidisciplinary journal composed of original research articles and short scholarly essays on a wide range of topics significant to those concerned with the teaching and learning of languages and literacies around the world, both in and beyond schools and universities.

Rhetoric/Writing in the Public Sphere

Examples of Journals on Rhetoric/Writing in the Public Sphere:

enculturation
enculturation is an anonymously refereed journal devoted to contemporary theories of rhetoric, writing, and culture, and invites submissions on rhetoric, composition, technology, and education.
Reflections: A Journal of Community Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Reflections, a peer-reviewed journal, provides a forum for scholarship on public rhetoric, civic writing, service-learning, and community literacy. Originally founded as a venue for teachers, researchers, students and community partners to share research and discuss the theoretical, political and ethical implications of community-based writing and writing instruction, Reflections publishes a lively collection of scholarship on public rhetoric and civic writing, occasional essays and stories both from and about community writing and literacy projects, interviews with leading workers in the field, and reviews of current scholarship touching on these issues and topics.
Literacy in Composition Studies
Literacy in Composition Studies (LiCS) is a refereed open access online journal that sponsors activity at the nexus of literacy and composition studies. We publish long-form scholarly articles and short-form pieces including book reviews, interviews, symposium essays, and work in new and emerging genres.
Poroi
Poroi (ISSN 2151-2957) is sponsored by the Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry. Scholarly articles in Poroi emphasize the rhetoric of knowledge production in and across academic disciplines; how knowledge flows between technical, public, and personal spheres of discourse; and how communication media affect argumentation, its dissemination, and reception. Poroi is published semiannually
Rhetoric & Public Affairs
Rhetoric & Public Affairs is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to the history, theory, and criticism of public discourse. Published quarterly, the journal explores the traditional arenas of rhetorical investigation including executive leadership, diplomacy, political campaigns, judicial and legislative deliberations, and public policy debate. Critical, analytical, or interpretive essays that examine particular instances of symbolic inducement in any historical period are welcome. Of special interest are manuscripts that explore the nexus of rhetoric, politics, and ethics-the worlds of persuasion, power, and social values as they meet in the crucible of public debate and deliberation.
Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric 
The Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric (JCR) is a peer-reviewed publication that publishes original scholarship that promotes critical engagement with rhetorical dimensions of current events (those of the past 18 months or so). In promoting the practice of public intellectualism, JCR offers an outlet for scholarship that is both intellectually rigorous and accessible to lay audiences. To this end, JCR specifically seeks to publish scholarship that evidences how rhetorical criticism and theory can help promote a more informed public that is better able to take part in a democratic society. Essays in JCR add to public discussions of current events and help the general public understand more fully the critical and theoretical underpinnings of public debates and controversies, political discourse, social movements, and media events.
Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society
Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society is a peer-reviewed, blind-refereed, online journal dedicated to exploring contemporary social, cultural, political and economic issues through a rhetorical lens. In addition to examining these subjects as found in written, oral and visual texts, we wish to provide a forum for calls to action in academia, education and national policy.

Browzine

Use BrowZine (the "Journals" link on the library homepage) to find journals available at WPI. Browse by subject to find relevant journals.

Here are some subjects you may be interested in:

Rhetoric and Argument

Examples of Journals on Rhetoric and Argument:

Rhetoric Review
Rhetoric Review is a scholarly interdisciplinary journal publishing in all areas of rhetoric and writing and providing a professional forum for its readers to consider and discuss current topics and issues.
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Readers of RSQ are rhetoricians working in communication, composition, English, history, philosophy, politics, classics, and other allied fields. Consequently, RSQ publishes work that advances a shared understanding of a multi-disciplinary field.
Visual Communication
Visual Communication is a quarterly, peer-reviewed academic journal publishing top research in visual studies. It welcomes contributions from scholars in anthropology, sociology, history and scientific research. Articles cover still and moving images; graphic design and typography; visual phenomena such as fashion, professional vision, posture and interaction; the built and landscaped environment; and the role of the visual in relation to language, music, sound and action.

Professional Writing/Communication

Examples of Journals on Professional Writing/Communication:

Technical Communication Quarterly
Articles published in TCQ combine theoretical and practical perspectives. All articles have a sound basis in theory, use accessible examples and illustrations, and include implications for teaching, research, or practice in technical communication. Articles cover a range of topics that include communication design, pedagogical approaches, the role of digital technologies, ethics, the rhetoric of workplaces or professions, the practices of publication management, dialogue between academics and practitioners, research methods, and connections between social practices and organizational discourse.
Xchanges
Xchanges (ISSN: 1558-6456) is an interdisciplinary Technical Communication, Writing/Rhetoric, and Writing Across the Curriculum journal, which publishes two issues annually from its home in the English Department at the University of New Mexico.  Our Fall issue each year features undergraduate research.  Our Spring issue features graduate-student research.  In each undergraduate issue, we publish theses and research projects of upper-level undergraduate students.  Our graduate-student issues feature MA- and Ph.D.-level original research from emerging professionals in our focal fields.
Written Communication
Written Communication (WC), peer-reviewed and published quarterly, is a broad, interdisciplinary, and essential journal for research on the study of writing in all its symbolic forms. It reports on what writing is, how writing gets done, and what writing does in the world, consistently providing readers with new research findings, new theoretical concepts, and new ways of understanding how writing is practiced in schools, workplaces, and communities.
International Journal of Business Communication
Journal of Business Communication (JBC), peer-reviewed and published quarterly, provides rigorous original research that contributes to the knowledge and theory of business communication as a distinct, multifaceted field, approached through the administrative disciplines, the liberal arts, and the social sciences. JBC is the official publication of the Association for Business Communication.

Rhetoric of Science/Medicine

Examples of Journals on Rhetoric of Science/Medicine:

Medical Humanities
Medical Humanities is a leading international journal that reflects the whole field of medical humanities. Medical Humanities aims to encourage a high academic standard for this evolving and developing subject and to enhance professional and public discussion. It features original articles relevant to the delivery of healthcare, the formulation of public health policy, the experience of being ill and of caring for those who are ill, as well as case conferences, educational case studies, book, film, and art reviews, editorials, correspondence, news and notes. To ensure international relevance Medical Humanities has Editorial Board members from all around the world.
Journal of Medical Humanities
Publishes original interdisciplinary studies of medicine and medical education. Research findings emerge from three areas of investigation: medical humanities, cultural studies, and pedagogy.
Science Communication
The flow of expert knowledge is undergoing rapid change. As information highways are constructed around the globe, new questions about ethics, goals, and economics must be answered. Science Communication addresses theoretical and pragmatic questions central to some of today’s most vigorous political and social debates. This discourse crosses national, cultural, and economic boundaries on issues such as health care policy, educational reform, international development, and environmental risk.
Rhetoric of Health & Medicine 
This journal publishes studies of health and medicine that take a rhetorical perspective. Such studies combine rhetorical analysis with any number of other methodologies, including critical/cultural analysis, ethnography, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis. Rhetoric of Health & Medicine seeks to bring together humanities and social scientific research traditions in a rhetorically focused journal to allow scholars to build new interdisciplinary theories, methodologies, and insights that can impact our understanding of health, illness, healing, and wellness.
Environmental Communication 
Environmental Communication is an international, peer-reviewed forum for multidisciplinary research and analysis assessing the many intersections among communication, media, society, and environmental issues. These include but are not limited to debates over climate change, natural resources, sustainability, conservation, wildlife, ecosystems, water, environmental health, food and agriculture, energy, and emerging technologies. Submissions should contribute to our understanding of scientific controversies, political developments, policy solutions, institutional change, cultural trends, media portrayals, public opinion and participation, and/or professional decisions. Articles often seek to bridge gaps between theory and practice, and are written in a style that is broadly accessible and engaging.
Public Understanding of Science
Public Understanding of Science is a fully peer reviewed, quarterly international journal covering all aspects of the inter-relationships between science (including technology and medicine) and the public. Topics Covered Include: popular representations of science, scientific and para-scientific belief systems, science in schools, history of science, education of popular science, science and the media.

Writing and Technology

Examples of Journals on Writing and Technology:

Computers and Composition
Computers and Composition: An International Journal is devoted to exploring the use of computers in writing classes, writing programs, and writing research. It provides a forum for discussing issues connected with writing and computer use. It also offers information about integrating computers into writing programs on the basis of sound theoretical and pedagogical decisions, and empirical evidence. It welcomes articles, reviews, and letters to the Editors that may be of interest to readers, including descriptions of computer-aided writing and/or reading instruction, discussions of topics related to computer use of software development; explorations of controversial ethical, legal, or social issues related to the use of computers in writing programs; and to discussions of how computers affect form and content for written discourse, the process by which this discourse is produced, or the impact this discourse has on an audience.
Computational Culture
Computational Culture (ISSN 2047-2390) is an online open-access peer-reviewed journal of inter-disciplinary enquiry into the nature of the culture of computational objects, practices, processes and structures.
Kairos
Kairos is a refereed open-access online journal exploring the intersections of rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy.

Other Journals

Other journals you may be interested in:

Quarterly Journal of Speech
Quarterly Journal of Speech, published in February, May, August and November, includes articles, research reports, and book reviews of interest to persons across a broad spectrum of the communication arts. QJS tends to be humanistic in its orientation. QJS presents research that is original, significant, and designed to further understanding of the processes of human communication, particularly in its rhetorical and cultural dimensions. Essays in the journal generally consider the theory and criticism of situated discourse in its various forms and venues, including the oral and written, public and private, direct and mediated, historical and contemporary. Although research in the journal is generally humanistic, the journal's mission and focus are not limited to any particular methodology or set of methodologies. Issues, texts, and research questions significant to improved understanding of discourse practices are featured.
Women's Studies in Communication
Women's Studies in Communication (WSIC) provides a feminist forum for diverse research, reviews, and commentary addressing the relationships between communication and gender. WSIC invites contributions that advance our understanding of the intersections of gender and race, ethnicity, nationality, ability, sexuality, and class, as well as the articulations between gendered performances, power, and representation in public culture. Topically and methodologically inclusive, WSIC publishes quantitative, qualitative, and critical communication scholarship drawing from a variety of areas including but not limited to interpersonal, organizational, performance, rhetoric, media, and cultural studies. The editor is committed to promoting the best work that falls within these parameters and also to encouraging the development of new voices and new projects that challenge conventions guiding communication scholarship. Feminist studies concerning queer and transgender politics, masculinity, dis/ability, labor, transnationalism, postcolonialism, and critical race theory are especially encouraged at this time.