Review journal

A review journal in academic publishing is an academic journal devoted to the review of progress in some particular area or topic during a preceding period often through the means of its publishing review articles.

Types

Review journals can be divided by

•     the frequency of publication
•     the format
•     the subject scope of the review
•     the time period
•     the type of review they provide

Frequency of publication

•     irregular, less than annual
•     Annual.
•     Periodically: monthly, semi-monthly, quarterly, etc.

Format

•     separate journal
•     regular feature in a journal
•     irregular of special article in a journal

Subject scope

•     Broad overview of the subject as a whole
•     Overview of major topic within the subject
•     Review of specific topic

Time period

•     Multi year
•     Annual
•     recurring in a cycle over a multi year period
•     irregular
•     Currently published items.

Material included

•     comprehensive—all relevant work
•     selective/comprehensive—all major relevant work
•     selective—the best work in a field.

Type of review

•     enumerative—listing with brief descriptions
•     evaluative—judging worth of the publications included
•     summarizing—providing a state-of-the-art summary
•     tutorial