International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars

In this IHEC Blog post I thought I would inform readers that the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars has started publishing their journal again in the form of International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars.  If you have not heard of Phi Beta Delta before you can learn more via their website and, if you are on a university or college campus, consider forming your own institutional chapter (currently in eight countries)!  I think IHEC Blog readers will find Phi Beta Delta to be a great organization and something worthy of considering!

Led by the efforts of Michael Smithee, Director of Publications and Editor, International Research and Review aims to provide “a forum for scholars and educators to engage in a  multi-disciplinary exchange of ideas, to address topics of mutual concern, and to advocate for policies that enhance the international dimension of higher education. Articles should focus on studies and systematic analyses that employ qualitative, quantitative, a mixture of both methods, and theoretical methodologies from an international scope. Both pedagogical and andragogical perspectives in teaching and learning are welcome.”  International Research and Review will be web based and is being indexed by EBSCO, which means it will be available in academic and other libraries.  It is anticipated that one to two issues will be published yearly. Thus, please consider this a call for papers.

IHEC Blog readers familiar with Phi Beta Delta may recall that they previously published the journal International Review which was interrupted in 2003 due to the cost of printing and dissemination.  Phi Beta Delta has scanned and loaded all of the articles from each of the twelve volumes of International Review, 1990-2002, on their website!  

The Phi Beta Delta Headquarters Office moved to the campus of California State University San Bernardino and is now under the leadership of Executive Director, Dr. Rueyling Chuang.

Writing and Publishing in the Field of International Education

I've always wondered where the best place is for international education practitioners/researchers to submit their work for publication. One publication avenue is in journals/publications such as Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Journal of Studies in International Education, or International Educator where we educate/inform our field (critical need for this). Another publication route is to submit work for publication in journals/publications focusing more generally on higher education, public diplomacy, policy, or on many other topics where we educate/inform those outside of our field in order to gain more support and understanding of our field (also critical need for this)? A third possibility is to take both paths and to write and submit different manuscripts for the different audiences you are trying to reach. What are your thoughts on this?

Undergraduate International Studies and Research while Studying Abroad

I’m posting today about two excellent examples of journals published by undergraduate students on issues related to international studies.

First is Undergraduate Journal of International Studies, co-sponsored by The Center for the Study of Global Change at Indiana University Bloomington. You can access Undergraduate Journal of International Studies here.[1]

The second is Sojourn, sponsored by the International Studies program in the undergraduate College at The University of Chicago. You can access information on Sojourn here.

I imagine that undergraduate students at other institutions across the United States (as well as across the globe) are producing similar top quality publications. If you know of similar publications/efforts by undergraduates at any college or university in the world please leave details such as institution, name of publication and link in the comments section.

On a related note, I encourage any institutions/organizations who are members of the Forum on Education Abroad to consider nominating their students for the annual Forum Undergraduate Research Award. This is an excellent way to further engage undergraduate scholars in their international research efforts and a way for top nominees to get their work published in Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad and for winners an additional opportunity to present their research at a conference. You can learn more about the Forum on Education Abroad Undergraduate Research Award here. The next deadline for nominations is June 26, 2009!

You can access past Frontiers issues featuring articles in PDF format by undergraduate study abroad students here:

Volume XII: November 2005
Volume XIV: March 2007
Volume XVI: Spring 2008

Additionally, you may be very interested in reading the introduction to Frontiers volume XVI by Bernhard Streitwieser and Neal Sobania entitled “Overseeing Study Abroad Research: Challenges, Responsibilities and the Institutional Review Board” here.

[1] A special word of thanks to my colleague Kathleen Sideli, Associate Vice President for Overseas Study at Indiana University, for information on Undergraduate Journal of International Studies.

Journal Impact Factors

I recently came across this interesting service from Journal Citation Report (JCR) on journal impact factors. According to their website “JCR provides quantitative tools for evaluating journals. The impact factor is one of these; it is a measure of the frequency with which the "average article" in a journal has been cited in a given period of time.



The impact factor for a journal is calculated based on a three-year period, and can be considered to be the average number of times published papers are cited up to two years after publication. For example, the impact factor 2008 for a journal would be calculated as follows:



A = the number of times articles published in 2006-7 were cited in indexed journals during 2008

B = the number of articles, reviews, proceedings or notes published in 2006-7

impact factor 2008 = A/B”

It will be interesting to see if journals in the field of international education will participate in this.