Preferences among real estate journals: perceptions vs reality

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the real estate journal ranking by comparing journal performance statistics to researcher preferences. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a survey of members of the International Real Estate Society and sister societies with comparison to impact statistics for real estate journals which are analysed using data from Google Scholar. Findings The findings show a high correlation between researcher preferences and the empirical results, supporting the findings of previous research in this area. However, while most previous studies were conducted on high-impact US journals only, these are still found to be amongst the highest ranked overall even with inclusion of other international journals. There are, however, some differences found, such as the perception of researchers on electronic vs hard copy journals, which were found to be moving more towards the former. Practical implications The results provide a ranking of various real estate journals, especially with regard to other international journals not included in the previous studies that are dominated by high-impact US journals, providing a guideline on where to publish. The paper also shows the methodology used in order to determine how the journals are ranked, which could be applied to other journals not included in this study in order for researchers to make informed decisions concerning publication choices. Originality/value This paper extends the research on this topic by analysing the preferences and statistics of a broader international sample of journals and compares researcher preferences to empirical analysis.