Publication channel that determines the level
A journal or publication series is the primary publication channel for journal articles, articles in edited books and separate scientific books. A conference is the primary publication channel for conference articles and edited books where the conference has been classified separately. The level of a book publisher is used if the primary publication channel has not been classified.
The numbers in the table indicate the order in which the publication channel is used to define the level category.
| Publication type | Journal or publication series (ISSN) | Book publisher (ISBN) | Conference (nimi) |
| A1 Journal article (refereed), original research | 1. | ||
| A2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review | 1. | ||
| A3 Book section, chapters in research books | 1. | 2. | |
| A4 Conference proceedings | 2. | 3. | 1. |
| C1 Book | 1. | 2. | |
| C2 Edited book, conference proceedings or special issue of a journal | 2. | 3. | 1. |
Journals and publication series
The levels of journal articles (A1 and A2) are determined on the basis of a journal or publication series identified by an ISSN.
The levels of book sections and books (A3 and C1) are primarily determined based on a publication series identified by an ISSN. If the publication is not part of a classified publication series, the book publisher's level is used.
In conference proceedings and edited books (A4 and C2), the level of the publication series is used when the conference has not been classified separately.
Conferences
The levels of conference proceedings and edited books (A4 and C2) are primarily determined on the basis of the conference, if the conference has been classified separately. A conference is identified by its established name.
If the conference has not been classified separately, the level is determined based on the publication series. If the publication series has not been classified, either, the book publisher's level is used.
Book publishers
A book publisher’s level is used for book sections and books (A3 and C1) if the publication is not part of a classified publication series. The publisher's level is used for conference proceedings and edited books (A4 and C2) if the conference or publication series has not been classified.
A book publisher is identified by an ISBN and the publisher’s name. Finnish publishers' book series are classified separately as a rule, whereas foreign publishers' book series are usually not classified.
Identifying the publication channel
The publication type determines if the publication's level is determined by the journal, publication series, conference or book publisher. The publication channel is identified by the ISSN or ISBN or the established name of a conference.
Each journal, publication series, conference and book publisher classified in the Publication Forum has a unique JufoID. This ID is used to link a publication to the publication channel that determines its level in VIRTA publication information service. If the publication has both an ISSN and an ISBN, both should be reported in the publication data collection. You can check the details of a publication channel and its assessment history in the JUFO portal.
Journal articles A1 and A2
The publication channel that determines the level of a journal article is identified by the ISSN marked in the publication. You can also search for a publication channel by name. In this case, you should check the channel information to make sure that it is the correct journal or publication series, rather than another channel with the same or similar name.
Books sections A3 and books C1
The publication channel of a book section or a book is primarily identified by the ISSN. If the publication is not part of a classified publication series, its level is determined by the book publisher. A book publisher is identified by an ISBN and the publisher’s name.
You should check the publisher’s name on the title page of the book. If both a parent company and a publisher subordinate to it (imprint) is cited in a book, the level is determined by the imprint. For example, Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier.
You can also search for a publisher by the ISBN root, in other words the first three strings of the number, for example 978-951-222. If you cannot find the ISBN in the database or the same ISBN root refers to several book publishers, you can identify the correct publication channel by the publisher’s name.
Conference proceedings A4 and edited books C2
The publication channel of conference proceedings or an edited book is primarily identified by the established name of the conference. An established name refers to a recurring part of a conference name that does not change from one event to another. The year, sequence number, venue, and date are usually not part of the established name.
If you cannot find the conference in the Publication Forum database, you can identify the publication channel by the ISSN of the publication series. If the publication series has not been classified, either, you can use a book publisher identified by the ISBN and the publisher’s name.
If the conference has its own publication series with an ISSN, you can enter it in the Publication Forum database under the name of the publication series.
Exception concerning Routledge and Palgrave Macmillan
Since the beginning of 2024, an exception has been applied to books of type C1 published by Routledge and Palgrave Macmillan. The levels of these publications may differ from the general level classification of a book publisher.
Checking the level
Once you have identified the publication channel, you should check in the JUFO portal its level that was valid in the year the publication came out. The publication channel's current level may differ from its rating in previous years.