[PakG1]

The top scholars in a field will know which papers to read and which papers to cite. They'll talk with each other via email, chat groups, and at conferences. If the top scholars are in agreement, it's pretty hard for a journal to maintain its status. Outside of a discipline, laypeople can't tell. But if you're a top scholar inside the discipline, you'll be part of these conversations and you'll know. And thereby so will your discipline colleagues and PhD students who are not yet top scholars.