This study starts with the basic academic functions of academic journals, clarifies the path from academic functions to social functions, and constructs the evaluation system of social functions of academic journals. The social function evaluation system has “Chinese characteristics” for its focus on journals’ social regulation and multiple evaluation dimensions like political guidance, ethical norms, economic impacts and social impacts. Social function evaluation is of industrial urgency for the international development of China’ s English language scientific journals. Due to problems such as publishing integrity and “map”, the guidance of social function evaluation is necessary. In this study, 10 English-language scientific journals funded by the China Excellence Program are evaluated based on the social function evaluation system. It suggests that in promoting China’ s English-language scientific journals into world first-class ones, political guidance and ethical norms of social function evaluation should be followed, and marketization and participation in public spheres should be emphasized to include economic and social impacts in the evaluation system. The social function evaluation system could help China solve SCI “supremacy” in the evaluation of its Chinese and English journals and steer academic journals back to their original intention of running journals.

Academic journal , Social function evaluation , Evaluation system , Chinese characteristics