A journal has a specific impact and prominence within its field.  This prominence is generated by the quality of submissions, the number of times cited, and many other factors, which in turn attract higher quality research and increase citations from members of the academy.  Using a highly ranked journal does not guarantee a useful article for your research, but it can certainly improve the odds of quality academic work.

Below is a short list of influential journals to start your research, and you can also reference Google Scholar's Listing of Top Publications (Communication), then search for the title in the library's journal search. Once you've located the journal's record, you can follow links to access full text articles or scroll down to use the "Search inside" feature.

UMD Library users can link their UMD user accounts with Google Scholar which allows for quicker access to scholarly articles. Take advantage of database and subscriptions through our FindIt! link resolver!

1. Go to scholar.google.com
2. Sign in with your UMD Credentials in upper right hand corner
3. In the upper left hand corner, click on the three parallel lines, then on the gear/sprocket

1. Click on the Library Links Tab. Search UMD Library, and check the box for "University of Minnesota Duluth - Findit@UMD. (You can also add "World Cat" & "University of Minnesota Duluth - ProQuest Full text")