14 KiB
Comprehensive List of Journals for Linked Data, Semantic Web, and Ontology Research
Last Updated: November 9, 2025
Focus: Academic journals publishing research on Linked Data, Semantic Web technologies, ontology engineering, and knowledge representation
Core Specialized Journals (Tier 1)
Primary Semantic Web Venues
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Semantic Web Journal (SWJ)
- Publisher: IOS Press
- Impact Factor: 3.0 (2023)
- CiteScore: 6.8 (2023)
- ISSN: 1570-0844 (print), 2210-4968 (online)
- URL: http://www.semantic-web-journal.net
- Focus: Linked Data, ontologies, knowledge graphs, semantic web technologies
- Special Features: Open and transparent review process, publicly available reviewer comments
- Key Topics: Data integration, web services, trust, provenance, ontology engineering
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Journal of Web Semantics (JWS)
- Publisher: Elsevier
- Impact Factor: 2.5 (2024)
- CiteScore: 6.2 (2024)
- URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-web-semantics
- Focus: Original research in semantic web, knowledge representation
- Special Issues: AI and Multimodal Knowledge Graphs, Geospatial Knowledge Graphs
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Applied Ontology
- Publisher: IOS Press / SAGE
- Impact Factor: 3.5 (2025) / 1.0 (2023)
- CiteScore: 4.3 (2023), 2.1 (5-year)
- ISSN: 1570-5838 (print), 1875-8533 (online)
- URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/APO
- Focus: Ontological analysis, conceptual modeling, ontology engineering
- Key Topics: Serious engagement with ontology across domains, formal representation
- Special Issues: Ontologies and Large Language Models, JOWO 10th Anniversary
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International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies (IJMSO)
- Publisher: Inderscience
- CiteScore: 1.2 (2022)
- ISSN: 1744-2621 (print), 1744-263X (online)
- Frequency: 4 issues per year
- URL: https://www.inderscience.com/jhome.php?jcode=ijmso
- Focus: Metadata structures, semantics, ontological frameworks
- Key Topics: Multi-disciplinary ontology research, metadata applications
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Advances in Knowledge Representation (AKR)
- Publisher: Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil)
- Open Access: Yes
- URL: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/advances-kr
- Focus: Knowledge representation with emphasis on ontologies
- Accepts: Research articles and in-depth review articles
- Languages: English (primary), special issues in Portuguese
Broader Computer Science and AI Journals (Tier 2)
Knowledge Engineering and Representation
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The Knowledge Engineering Review
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press
- URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/knowledge-engineering-review
- Focus: Ontology engineering methodologies, knowledge systems evolution
- Key Topics: Collaborative ontology engineering, methodology development
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Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR)
- Publisher: AI Access Foundation
- Impact Factor: 4.6
- h-index: 15, i10-index: 22
- URL: https://www.jair.org
- Focus: Broad AI research including knowledge representation
- Key Topics: Automated reasoning, constraint processing, knowledge representation
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IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering (TKDE)
- Publisher: IEEE Computer Society
- Focus: Knowledge engineering, data management systems
- Relevance: High-quality venue for ontology and knowledge graph research
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ACM Journal of Data and Information Quality (JDIQ)
- Publisher: ACM
- Focus: Data quality, information management
- Relevance: Quality aspects of Linked Data and knowledge graphs
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Information Processing & Management
- Publisher: Elsevier
- Impact Factor: High-tier journal
- URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/information-processing-and-management
- Special Issues: Ontology engineering with Large Language Models (OntoGenix)
- Key Topics: Information retrieval, knowledge management, semantic technologies
Information Systems and Database Journals (Tier 2)
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Information Systems
- Publisher: Elsevier
- Focus: Information management, systems design
- Relevance: Applications of ontologies and Linked Data in various contexts
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Journal of Big Data
- Publisher: Springer
- Open Access: Yes
- Focus: Large-scale data applications
- Relevance: Ontologies for big data management and integration
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International Journal of Web Information Systems (IJWIS)
- Publisher: Emerald
- Focus: Web-based information systems
- Key Topics: Special issues on ontologies and Linked Data intersection
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International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS)
- Indexed in: DBLP
- URL: https://dblp.org/db/journals/ijswis/
- Focus: Semantic web applications and information systems
Knowledge Management Journals (Tier 2)
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International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM)
- Publisher: IGI Global
- URL: https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-knowledge-management/1083
- Focus: Knowledge management systems using knowledge graphs and semantic technologies
- Key Topics: Business management applications, knowledge graph integration
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European Journal of Information and Knowledge Management (EJIKM)
- Publisher: CARI Journals
- URL: https://carijournals.org/journals/index.php/EJIKM
- Key Topics: Semantic technologies in KM, machine learning applications
Emerging and Interdisciplinary Venues (Tier 3)
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Applied Sciences
- Publisher: MDPI
- Open Access: Yes
- URL: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci
- Special Issues: Ontology Engineering and Knowledge Graphs Design
- Relevance: Domain-specific applications across multiple fields
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Nature Scientific Data
- Publisher: Springer Nature
- Open Access: Yes
- Focus: Research data and large-scale datasets
- Examples: CS-KG 2.0 (Computer Science Knowledge Graph), SemOpenAlex
- Relevance: Publishing knowledge graph datasets
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Automatic Documentation and Mathematical Linguistics
- Publisher: Springer
- Focus: Metadata, semantic services, document automation
- Relevance: Semantic network applications
Conference Proceedings (Premier Venues)
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Proceedings of the International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC)
- Publisher: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)
- URL: http://iswc20XX.semanticweb.org (annual)
- Status: Premier conference for Semantic Web research
- Key Papers: The SPAR Ontologies (Peroni & Shotton, 2018)
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Proceedings of the Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR)
- Publisher: KR Inc.
- URL: https://proceedings.kr.org
- Status: Leading forum for knowledge representation theory
- Annual: KR2025, KR2024, KR2023, etc.
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CEUR Workshop Proceedings
- Publisher: CEUR-WS.org
- Open Access: Yes
- URL: https://ceur-ws.org
- Focus: Workshop proceedings including Joint Ontology Workshops (JOWO)
- Example: Semantic Web Journal as Linked Data (Vol-1486)
Domain-Specific and Application Journals
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Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management (JISEM)
- URL: https://www.jisem-journal.com
- Focus: NLP for knowledge management, semantic approaches
- Key Topics: Ontology applications, semantic annotation, SLR methodologies
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Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Management (JAIMM)
- Publisher: SAGE Science
- URL: https://journals.sagescience.org/index.php/jamm
- Focus: AI/ML applications in management and business
- Relevance: Knowledge graphs in organizational contexts
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Computer Science, Information Technology and Applications (CSITRA)
- Publisher: FEP Business Lab
- URL: https://www.fepbl.com/index.php/csitrj
- Focus: AI-enhanced knowledge management systems
- Key Topics: NLP, TensorFlow, enterprise search, workflow automation
Specialized Topics and Related Fields
Bibliographic and Scholarly Publishing
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Journal of Academic Librarianship
- Relevance: Bibliographic ontologies, scholarly information systems
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D-Lib Magazine
- Publisher: CNRI
- Open Access: Yes
- Relevance: Digital libraries, metadata standards, semantic technologies
Geospatial and Scientific Data
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International Journal of Geographical Information Science
- Special Issues: Geospatial Knowledge Graphs
- Relevance: Spatial ontologies, GeoKGs
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Scientific Data (Springer Nature)
- Focus: Data descriptors for large-scale knowledge graphs
- Examples: OpenAlex, CS-KG, ScholKG
Key Research Themes Across Journals
Ontology Engineering
- Methods: Methodologies for building, evaluating, and managing ontologies
- Tools: LOT methodology, collaborative approaches, LLM-assisted ontology generation
- Standards: OWL 2 DL, RDFS, SKOS
Linked Data Lifecycle
- Extraction: Authoring, NLP-based extraction
- Linking: Entity resolution, interlinking datasets
- Enrichment: Data quality, metadata enhancement
- Evolution: Versioning, change management
Knowledge Graphs
- Construction: Automated KG generation, ontology alignment
- Validation: Consistency checking, quality assessment
- Applications: Scientific knowledge graphs, enterprise KGs, geospatial KGs
- Scale: SemOpenAlex (26B triples), CS-KG (67M statements)
Interoperability
- Standards: How ontologies facilitate cross-system integration
- Semantic Web: RDF, SPARQL, JSON-LD
- Domain Integration: Healthcare, cultural heritage, e-governance
Applications
- Cultural Heritage: CIDOC-CRM, LIDO, Europeana Data Model
- Healthcare: Biomedical ontologies, clinical terminologies
- E-Governance: TOOI, CPOV, organizational ontologies
- Scientific Publishing: SPAR ontologies, FaBiO, CiTO, DoCO
Emerging Topics
- LLMs and Ontologies: Using large language models for ontology engineering
- Multimodal KGs: Integrating text, images, and structured data
- Explainable AI: Ontologies for XAI, semantic explanations
- Privacy and Trust: Provenance tracking, data quality tiers
Citation Standards
When citing journals in academic work, use the following formats:
APA Style
Peroni, S., & Shotton, D. (2018). The SPAR Ontologies. In Proceedings of the 17th
International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2018) (pp. 119-136).
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00668-6_8
IEEE Style
S. Peroni and D. Shotton, "The SPAR Ontologies," in Proc. 17th Int. Semantic Web Conf.
(ISWC), 2018, pp. 119-136, doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-00668-6_8.
Journal Selection Guide
For Pure Ontology Engineering Research
- Primary: Applied Ontology, Semantic Web Journal
- Secondary: IJMSO, Advances in Knowledge Representation
For Linked Data and Knowledge Graphs
- Primary: Semantic Web Journal, Journal of Web Semantics
- Secondary: Scientific Data (for datasets), ISWC/KR proceedings
For AI/ML Integration with Ontologies
- Primary: Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, Information Processing & Management
- Secondary: JAIMM, Applied Sciences
For Domain Applications
- Cultural Heritage: Semantic Web Journal (special issues), Applied Sciences
- Healthcare: Journal of Biomedical Semantics (not listed above, consider adding)
- E-Government: IJSWIS, Information Systems
For Knowledge Management
- Primary: IJKM, EJIKM
- Secondary: JISEM, TKDE
Open Access Opportunities
Fully Open Access Journals:
- Advances in Knowledge Representation
- Applied Sciences (MDPI)
- Journal of Big Data
- Nature Scientific Data
- CEUR Workshop Proceedings
Hybrid Open Access:
- Semantic Web Journal (author-pay option)
- Applied Ontology (SAGE)
- Information Processing & Management (Elsevier)
Resources and Links
Journal Portals
- IOS Press Journals: https://www.iospress.com
- Elsevier ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com
- SAGE Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com
- MDPI: https://www.mdpi.com
- Springer Nature: https://www.springernature.com
Conference Proceedings
- ISWC: http://swsa.semanticweb.org/content/international-semantic-web-conference-iswc
- KR: http://www.kr.org
- CEUR-WS: https://ceur-ws.org
Bibliographic Databases
- DBLP: https://dblp.org
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com
- Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org
Conclusion
This comprehensive list includes 29 journals and conference proceedings series covering the full spectrum of Linked Data, Semantic Web, and ontology research. Researchers should select venues based on:
- Research focus: Pure ontology vs. applications
- Audience: Academic, industry, or interdisciplinary
- Open access requirements: Funder mandates
- Impact and prestige: Citation metrics, editorial board quality
- Publication timeline: Review speed, time to publication
For the GLAM project specifically, prioritize:
- Semantic Web Journal (for Linked Data and ontology work)
- Applied Ontology (for FaBiO, SPAR, CIDOC-CRM integration)
- Journal of Web Semantics (for knowledge graph research)
- Nature Scientific Data (for publishing the final heritage custodian knowledge graph)
Maintainer: GLAM Data Extraction Project
Feedback: Submit issues or additions via GitHub