diff --git a/app/models/detector.rb b/app/models/detector.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5694035
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/detector.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+# Detectors are classes that implement various algorithms that allow us to identify patterns
+# within search terms.
+module Detector
+  def self.table_name_prefix
+    'detector_'
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/models/detector/journal.rb b/app/models/detector/journal.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61962ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/detector/journal.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+# == Schema Information
+#
+# Table name: detector_journals
+#
+#  id              :integer          not null, primary key
+#  name            :string
+#  additional_info :json
+#  created_at      :datetime         not null
+#  updated_at      :datetime         not null
+#
+module Detector
+  # Detector::Journal stores information about academic journals loaded from external sources to allow us to check our
+  # incoming Terms against these information
+  class Journal < ApplicationRecord
+    before_save :downcase_fields!
+
+    # Identify journals in which the incoming phrase matches a Journal.name exactly
+    #
+    # @note We always store the Journal.name downcased, so we should also always downcase the phrase
+    #   when matching
+    #
+    # @note In reality, multiple Journals can exist with the same name. Therefore, we don't enforce
+    #   unique names and don't expect a single Journal to be returned.
+    #
+    # @param phrase [String]. A string representation of a search term (not an actual Term object!)
+    #
+    # @return [Set of Detector::Journal] A set of ActiveRecord Detector::Journal relations.
+    def self.full_term_match(phrase)
+      Journal.where(name: phrase.downcase)
+    end
+
+    # Identify journals in which the incoming phrase contains one or more Journal names
+    #
+    # @note This likely won't scale well and may not be suitable for live detection as it loads all Journal records.
+    #
+    # @param phrase [String]. A string representation of a search term (not an actual Term object!)
+    #
+    # @return [Set of Detector::Journal] A set of ActiveRecord Detector::Journal relations.
+    def self.partial_term_match(phrase)
+      Journal.all.map { |journal| journal if phrase.downcase.include?(journal.name) }.compact
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    # Downcasing all names before saving allows for more efficient matching by ensuring our index is lowercase.
+    # If we find we need the non-lowercase Journal name in the future, we could store that as `additional_info` json
+    def downcase_fields!
+      name.downcase!
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20240701205444_create_detector_journals.rb b/db/migrate/20240701205444_create_detector_journals.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..607d4d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20240701205444_create_detector_journals.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class CreateDetectorJournals < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.1]
+  def change
+    create_table :detector_journals do |t|
+      t.string :name
+      t.json :additional_info
+
+      t.timestamps
+    end
+    add_index :detector_journals, :name
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index 384ff92..3acaf32 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,15 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema[7.1].define(version: 2024_06_21_132136) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema[7.1].define(version: 2024_07_01_205444) do
+  create_table "detector_journals", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.string "name"
+    t.json "additional_info"
+    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
+    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
+    t.index ["name"], name: "index_detector_journals_on_name"
+  end
+
   create_table "metrics_algorithms", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.date "month"
     t.integer "doi"
diff --git a/test/fixtures/detector/journals.yml b/test/fixtures/detector/journals.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..edec9e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/detector/journals.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# == Schema Information
+#
+# Table name: detector_journals
+#
+#  id              :integer          not null, primary key
+#  name            :string
+#  additional_info :json
+#  created_at      :datetime         not null
+#  updated_at      :datetime         not null
+#
+
+# Note: fixtures bypass ActiveRecord callbacks so while our model auto downcases titles,
+# these fixtures will be stored mixed case unless they are all manually downcased here.
+# Put another way, please make sure to always use downcase/lowercase for the 'name' in these fixtures
+# to properly match the real behavior of the application.
+nature: {
+  name: nature,
+  additional_info: {issns: ['0028-0836', '1476-4687']}
+}
+
+the_new_england_journal_of_medicine: {
+  name: the new england journal of medicine,
+  additional_info: {issns: ['0028-4793', '1533-4406']}
+}
+
+nature_medicine: {
+  name: nature medicine,
+  additional_info: {issns: ['1078-8956', '1546-170X']}
+}
diff --git a/test/models/detector/journal_test.rb b/test/models/detector/journal_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd68655
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/models/detector/journal_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+# == Schema Information
+#
+# Table name: detector_journals
+#
+#  id              :integer          not null, primary key
+#  name            :string
+#  additional_info :json
+#  created_at      :datetime         not null
+#  updated_at      :datetime         not null
+#
+require 'test_helper'
+
+module Detector
+  class JournalTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
+    test 'exact term match on journal name' do
+      expected = detector_journals('the_new_england_journal_of_medicine')
+      actual = Detector::Journal.full_term_match('the new england journal of medicine')
+
+      assert actual.count == 1
+      assert_equal(expected, actual.first)
+    end
+
+    test 'mixed case exact term match on journal name' do
+      expected = detector_journals('the_new_england_journal_of_medicine')
+      actual = Detector::Journal.full_term_match('The New England Journal of Medicine')
+
+      assert actual.count == 1
+      assert_equal(expected, actual.first)
+    end
+
+    test 'exact match within longer term returns no matches' do
+      actual = Detector::Journal.full_term_match('The New England Journal of Medicine, 1999')
+      assert actual.count.zero?
+    end
+
+    test 'phrase match within longer term returns matches' do
+      actual = Detector::Journal.partial_term_match('words and stuff The New England Journal of Medicine, 1999')
+      assert actual.count == 1
+    end
+
+    test 'multple matches can happen with phrase matching within longer terms' do
+      actual = Detector::Journal.partial_term_match('words and stuff Nature medicine, 1999')
+      assert actual.count == 2
+    end
+  end
+end