Publication patterns of award-winning forest scientists and implications for the Australian ERA journal ranking

Publication patterns of 79 forest scientists awarded major international forestry prizes during 1990–2010 were compared with the journal classification and ranking promoted as part of the ‘Excellence in Research for Australia’ (ERA) by the Australian Research Council. The data revealed that these scientists exhibited an elite publication performance during the decade before and two decades following their first major award. An analysis of their 1703 articles in 431 journals revealed substantial differences between the journal choices of these elite scientists and the ERA classification and ranking of journals. Implications from these findings are that additional cross-classifications should be added for many journals, and there should be an adjustment to the ranking of several journals relevant to the ERA Field of Research classified as 0705 Forestry Sciences.

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► Prize-winners exhibit elite performance a decade before and two decades following their award.
► Their publication patterns correlate with other established metrics but conflict with the ERA classification and ranking.
► Their publication choices suggest that the Australian ERA ranking warrants revision and that several forestry journals including Forest Ecology and Management, Tree Physiology and Canadian Journal of Forest Research warrant an A* ranking within ERA.
► Multiple fields of research should be assigned within the ERA classification to recognise and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.