The Journal of Research Administration (JRA) is the peer-reviewed practitioner journal published by SRA International (SRAI, formerly the Society of Research Administrators International). It is one of two named scholarly outlets in the research-administration profession — the other being NCURA’s Research Management Review — and it exists specifically to give research administrators, sponsored-programs staff, and RA educators a peer-reviewed venue for writing about their own field, rather than about the science their institutions administer.
What Is the Journal of Research Administration?
The JRA is described by SRAI as its “premier peer-reviewed publication, dedicated to advancing the field through quality, innovation, and professional development.” Unlike a discipline-specific research journal, its subject matter is the practice of research administration itself: how sponsored-programs offices operate, how institutional policy responds to funder requirements, how the profession trains and credentials its practitioners, and how the global research-funding landscape is changing. Recent issues have carried contributions from North America, Europe, and Africa, covering topics such as policy shifts, institutional systems and workflow, professional identity, and grant writing.
Who Publishes and Edits the JRA
SRA International (SRAI) is the professional association behind the journal. As of this writing, the JRA’s Editor-in-Chief is Holly Zink, PhD, MSA, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, with Rani Muthukrishnan of Texas A&M University–San Antonio serving as Deputy Editor, supported by an editorial board that oversees the peer-review process. Because editorial leadership can change between volumes, always confirm the current masthead on SRAI’s own journal page before citing an editor by name in a submission cover letter or reference.
From SRA Newsletter to JRA: A Short History
The journal’s lineage traces back to the earliest days of the society: an SRA Newsletter began circulating not long after the organization’s founding in 1968, and a more formal Journal of the Society of Research Administrators followed in 1969. That publication was later restructured and renumbered as the Journal of Research Administration starting with Volume 1, Number 1, carrying the current title and numbering scheme it still uses today. In other words, the JRA is not a recent addition to the field — it has been the profession’s practitioner-facing scholarly outlet, under one name or another, since research administration first organized itself as a distinct profession in the late 1960s.
What the JRA Covers
Typical JRA content spans several recurring categories:
- Peer-reviewed research articles on research-administration practice — for example, studies of how institutions implement funder policy, workforce and professional-identity research, or comparative analysis of administrative structures.
- Case studies and practice pieces describing how a specific office, institution, or country approached a research-management problem.
- International and comparative perspectives, reflecting SRAI’s membership base across roughly 40 countries and its stated aim of tracking “the evolving global research landscape.”
- Professional-development content aimed directly at readers building a career in research administration, including grant-writing craft and institutional-systems design.
Publication Frequency, ISSN, and Where to Find It
The JRA is published twice yearly. It carries the ISSN 1539-1590 (print) and 2573-7104 (online), per the ISSN International Centre’s registry. Current and archived issues, along with author guidance, are hosted on SRAI’s own site under its journal resources section; older volumes are also catalogued in academic library systems (including several major North American university library catalogs), which is useful if you’re trying to track down a specific back issue for a literature review or citation rather than browsing the current volume.
How to Submit an Article to the JRA
SRAI directs prospective authors to its “Become a Journal Author” guidance, published alongside the journal itself on srainternational.org, which lays out current formatting, length, and review-process requirements. Because submission portals, formatting templates, and review timelines are the kind of detail that changes between volumes without much advance notice, treat SRAI’s own current guidance page as the authoritative source at the time you submit rather than relying on a secondhand summary — including this one. As a general practice-journal pattern common across the field, expect a peer-review process (editorial screening followed by review from the editorial board or invited reviewers), a preference for practice-relevant framing over purely theoretical treatment, and an interest in pieces that generalize beyond a single institution’s experience.
JRA vs. NCURA’s Research Management Review
The JRA is not the only scholarly outlet in research administration. The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) publishes its own journal, the Research Management Review (RMR), which NCURA describes as covering “the broad range of issues affecting the administration of research and the changing research environment.” The two publications occupy a similar niche — each is the flagship scholarly journal of a major research-administration membership association — and many practitioners read or contribute to both rather than choosing one over the other. If you’re deciding where to submit a manuscript, the more practical differentiator is usually which association you’re a member of and which journal’s recent issues most closely match the angle of your piece, not a difference in subject-matter scope.
Why the JRA Matters for Your Research Administration Career
For working research administrators, the JRA functions less like a citation-count exercise and more like a professional record: publishing in it is a recognized way to demonstrate subject-matter expertise, contribute to the profession’s body of practice knowledge, and build a credential-adjacent track record that can support promotion, tenure-track research-administration faculty appointments, or applications for SRAI leadership and award recognition. It also functions as a reading resource: administrators preparing for credentials such as the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) exam, or comparing the landscape of RA certification programs more broadly, often use JRA articles as a way to stay current on policy shifts that eventually show up in exam content or day-to-day compliance work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Journal of Research Administration peer-reviewed?
Yes. SRAI describes the JRA as its premier peer-reviewed publication, and it operates with an editorial board that oversees review of submitted manuscripts.
Who can submit to the JRA?
SRAI membership is not a stated prerequisite for authorship on the journal’s public materials, though the journal’s audience and typical article framing are squarely aimed at research administrators, RA educators, and researchers studying the profession itself. Check SRAI’s current author guidance for any eligibility specifics before submitting.
How often does the JRA publish new issues?
Twice a year, typically as a Spring and a Fall (or comparable biannual) issue.
Is the Journal of Research Administration open access?
SRAI’s own journal page does not state a single, unambiguous open-access policy, and access details can change between volumes. Some archival content is available through university library catalogs and SRAI’s historical archive; for the current issue’s access terms, check SRAI’s journal page directly rather than assuming either a subscription or an open-access model.
What is the JRA’s ISSN?
1539-1590 for the print edition and 2573-7104 for the online edition, per the ISSN International Centre.
Is the JRA the same as NCURA’s journal?
No. The JRA is SRAI’s journal; NCURA publishes a separate scholarly journal, the Research Management Review. They are distinct publications from two different research-administration membership associations, though they cover closely related subject matter.
Was the JRA always called the “Journal of Research Administration”?
No. Its lineage runs from an SRA Newsletter (starting around 1968) through the Journal of the Society of Research Administrators (from 1969), before being restructured under the current title and volume numbering.
