An analysis of the research productivity of authors appearing in financial education journals

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate the research records of scholars contributing articles to the two premier financial education journals – Journal of Financial Education ( JFED ) and Financial Practice and Education ( FPE ) – as a means by which to obtain indirect evidence about the quality of the articles appearing in these education journals. The implicit assumption is that authors who publish in the best finance research journals will apply the same standards of excellence and rigor when preparing manuscripts for financial education journals. Design/methodology/approach – The names of all authors appearing in the JFED and FPE during the 1972‐2010 period – and the number of such appearances – were summarized directly from the journals' table of contents. The number of appearances by each author in a set of 23 high‐impact finance journals was identified by reference to the table of contents of these journals. Findings – The majority of the authors appearing in the two education journals have also penned one or more high‐impact article, with an average of over three high‐impact appearances. Research limitations/implications – The identification of a unique set of the 23 “best” journals in any academic field is an inherently subjective task. The exclusion of additional high‐quality journals from this list (especially those from the related fields of accounting and economics) might short change the research records of some education authors. Originality/value – Evidence about the average quality of articles appearing in education journals could be useful to university administrators when evaluating faculty research records for purposes of tenure, promotion, and merit awards.