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The ABDC Journal Quality List (JQL) is the journal rating list published by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC). It places business-related journals in four tiers, A*, A, B and C. This guide is for researchers, librarians and research-office staff who need to find the genuine list, read a rating correctly and see how the list has changed from 2016 to 2025. Facts below were checked against the ABDC website and its March 2026 review report on 2026-11-07.
What the ABDC Journal Quality List is
The JQL is a list of journals, each with a rating (A*, A, B or C) and a Field of Research (FoR) code. The ABDC site states that the list is current to the most recent review, completed in 2025. Journals that did not reach the quality threshold are not listed, and the 2025 review report says that group includes predatory or illegitimate outlets.
What the tiers mean (ABDC ranking definitions)
The 2025 review report gives percentage thresholds as a general guide for panel judgments within each FoR, not fixed quotas:
- A*: the top 5 to 7 percent of journals assigned to a FoR, described as internationally recognised exemplars of excellence.
- A: the next 15 to 25 percent, described as having among the highest citation metrics in the FoR.
- B: roughly the next 35 to 40 percent, described as good to excellent metrics and reputation.
- C: the remaining recognised quality journals, which may include excellent practitioner-oriented journals.
Because tiers are assigned within a FoR, an A rating in one field is a statement about that field’s list, not a cross-field score.
Who runs it and what it covers
The ABDC describes itself as the collective voice of Australian university business schools, with 37 members. It runs the JQL through periodic reviews led by expert panels aligned to Fields of Research, such as Accounting (3501), Marketing (3506) and Information Systems (4609), with a steering group reviewing the recommendations and the ABDC Executive Committee giving final approval.
How a journal gets on the list
Beyond quality indicators, the key criterion for adding a journal is a substantive business element. In a submission this is evidenced by more than 50 percent of articles over three years being written by business and management faculty, or being of a business or management nature. For a journal under three years old, the test applies to the period it has existed. Panels were given cross-reference data (Harzing’s List of Lists) and bibliometric indicators such as Impact Factor, h-index, SNIP, SJR and CiteScore, sourced from Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports, Elsevier’s Scopus Sources, SCImago Journal Rank and the CABS Academic Journal Guide.
List size and tier shares, 2016 to 2025
The review report tabulates each edition. Source: ABDC JQL Review report, March 2026.
| Edition | Total journals | A* | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2,777 | 6.9% | 21.1% | 29.0% | 42.8% |
| 2019 | 2,681 | 7.4% | 24.3% | 31.7% | 36.6% |
| 2022 | 2,680 | 7.4% | 24.4% | 31.9% | 36.2% |
| 2025 | 2,652 | 8.3% | 23.7% | 32.5% | 35.5% |
Read across the rows, the list has stayed close to 2,700 titles, the A* share has risen from 6.9 to 8.3 percent, and the C share has fallen from 42.8 to 35.5 percent. The 2025 review was described as a full evaluation, the first since 2019, covering additions and removals of titles as well as rating changes; the 2022 edition followed an interim review.
How to search or use the ABDC list
The steps below are taken from the ABDC Journal Quality List page. The ABDC states that the only valid searchable ABDC Journal Quality List is the one it publishes itself.
- Open the ABDC Journal Quality List page at abdc.edu.au/abdc-journal-quality-list/.
- Use the search tool on that page to look up a journal.
- Filter by Field of Research, for example 3501 Accounting, 3506 Marketing or 4609 Information systems.
- Filter by rating (A*, A, B or C) if you want one tier.
- Export the results from the search tool when you need them in a file.
- Alternatively, download the 2025 list as an .xlsx file. Earlier lists (2022, 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010) sit on separate sheets of the same workbook.
- For methodology, open the 2025 or 2022 review report (PDF) from the same page.
ABDC journal list 2026: PDF, Excel and search
The ABDC publishes the 2025 list as an Excel download and as an on-site search; the review reports are the PDFs. The ABDC says third-party searchable versions are not valid.
Earlier editions (ABDC list 2022 and before)
The 2022 edition was released on 16 March 2023 and the 2019 edition on 6 December 2019, per the ABDC site. Use the multi-sheet 2025 workbook when you need to compare a journal’s rating across editions.
Strengths and limits
- Strength: a single, openly searchable list with FoR codes and four tiers, and a published methodology with stated tier guides.
- Strength: the 2025 workbook keeps five earlier editions, so rating history can be traced.
- Limit: the list covers journals with a substantive business element; a journal outside that scope will not appear.
- Limit: tiers are set within each FoR by panels using indicators plus judgment, so they are not a formula applied to a single metric.
- Limit: a rating describes a journal, not an individual article.
How your institution or funder uses the list is set by that institution or funder, in its own policy.
Alternatives and related sources
These are the sources the ABDC review report names as inputs to its panels.
| Source | Role in the ABDC 2025 review |
|---|---|
| Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide (AJG) | Named as an indicator source for panels |
| Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR) | Named as an indicator source (Impact Factor) |
| SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) | Named as an indicator source |
| Elsevier Scopus Sources | Named as an indicator source |
| Harzing’s List of Lists | Supplied to panels for cross-referencing with other national and international rankings |
For how metric-based sources differ, see SJR, CiteScore, Altmetric and Nature Index compared. For indexing and reputation checklists, see DOAJ, Beall’s List and Think. Check. Submit. compared. A worked example of a journal fact page is Finance Research Letters: scope, APC and submission, and for why one publisher can have no single impact factor see JAMA Network impact factor.
FAQ
What is the ABDC list?
It is the Journal Quality List of the Australian Business Deans Council, rating business-related journals A*, A, B or C by Field of Research. The current edition is the 2025 review, per the ABDC website (checked 2026-11-07).
What does an ABDC ranking of A* mean?
A* is the highest tier, a guide of the top 5 to 7 percent of journals within a FoR, described as internationally recognised exemplars of excellence.
Where do I download the ABDC journal list as Excel?
From the ABDC Journal Quality List page, which offers the 2025 list as an .xlsx download containing earlier editions on separate sheets.
Is a third-party copy of the list valid?
The ABDC states that the only valid searchable ABDC Journal Quality List is the one published by the ABDC.
How many journals are on the 2025 list?
The 2025 review report gives 2,652 journals, of which 8.3 percent are A*.
Sources
- Australian Business Deans Council, ABDC Journal Quality List, read 2026-11-07.
- Australian Business Deans Council, abdc.edu.au (about, dates, membership), read 2026-11-07.
- Australian Business Deans Council, ABDC JQL Review report, March 2026, read 2026-11-07.
