Preparing for Publication:
Factors to consider in selecting a journal for publication
1. Journals used by yourself or mentors/colleagues
One factor for consideration of a journal is to review the journals you use for your research. Which journals do you use
frequently to keep track of new developments in your field? Which journals are used by the main researchers/authors in
your area of research? Does the professional organization you belong to publish any journals? Also, check with your
mentors and colleagues about journal options—there may be some journals that are highly recommended for your area
of research. Specific journals may be more prestigious for tenure and promotion. These are all quality benchmarks for
assessing a journal for publication.
2. Consider your desired audience
Knowing the scope and aim of the journal can help assess whether the article will reach the intended audience. If the
target audience is international, select a journal with an international focus. If the target audience is limited to a select
area of research, select a journal with a narrow focus as opposed to one with a multidisciplinary focus. Topic specific
journals such as Journal of Clinical Investigation may disseminate your work more efficiently to your desired audience
than a general science journal such as Nature. More specialized journals, even with a potentially smaller readership,
may offer a broader dissemination of your work to your peers in a specific area of research.
a. Ulrich’s Periodical Directory
b. Check the journal website or the print version for a description of the journal
c. Review back issues of journals to assess the scope of the journal and author affiliations
3. Impact and ranking
Impact and ranking factors of journals are indicators of journal quality. Examples of impact and ranking factors include
the frequency in which an average article from a journal is cited in other publications over a specified time period; the
number of articles published per year; the immediacy index; the cited half-life; the aggregate impact factor of a subject
area; citation influence; journal influence index; paper influence index; to name a few. Consult the user’s guide or help
icon for each resource for more information.
a. eigenFACTOR
b. ISI Journal Citation Reports
c. Red Jasper’s Center for Journal Ranking
d. scienceWATCH
e. SCImago
f. SCOPUS Journal Analyzer* (*Scopus is available to WU School of Medicine and WU School of Engineering users
only)
4. Indexing status by citation databases
A factor to consider when evaluating a journal for publication is its indexing status by citation databases. One indicator
of journal quality is whether it is indexed by any major citation databases and if so, how far back does the indexing date
to?
a. Ulrich’s Periodical Directory
b. Check the journal website or the most recent issue of a print issue to locate indexing information
c. Consult the user’s guide or help icon of a particular database to locate indexing information
5. Journal information
Factors such as the circulation count, the number of years in publication, the language/s of the journal, frequency of
publication, number of articles published per year, and availability of electronic or print formats can be helpful in
determining a journal for publication.
a. Ulrich’s Periodical Directory
Last Updated February 2010
b. Check the journal website or the print version for a description of the journal
6. Acceptance/Rejection rate
Acceptance rates provide a measure of determining how competitive a particular journal is. There are some highly
competitive journals with an acceptance rate of less than 10%. More specialized journals tend to have a lower rejection
rate than more general journals.
a. American Psychological Association (APA) journals
b. Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities
c. Check the journal website—some journals note the acceptance/rejection rate for submissions
d. Contact the Editor in Chief
7. Peer review status
In most academic settings publication in peer-reviewed journals is a requirement for tenure and promotion. Peer review
is defined as an organized procedure carried out by a select committee of professionals in evaluating the performance
of other professionals in meeting the standards of their specialty.
a. Ulrich’s Periodical Directory
b. Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities
c. Check the journal website or the print version for a description of the journal
8. Length of the review process
One factor to consider is the length of the review process. What is the average length of time from submission to
publication? What is the average length of time for submission to rejection? How soon will an author receive notice that
their manuscript has been accepted for publication? If accepted, what is the expected time period for acceptance to
publication? Also to consider is the frequency of publication by a journal. The review process for a journal that publishes
on a quarterly basis is most likely longer as opposed to one that publishes monthly.
a. Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities
b. Check the journal website or print version for information
c. Contact the Editor in Chief
9. Reputation of the publisher, journal, editor in chief, or editorial board
The reputation of the publisher, journal, editor in chief and editorial board members can be useful in determining the
quality of a journal.
a. Check the journal website or the print version for information about the Editor in Chief and editorial board
members
b. Ask your colleagues, particularly senior researchers in your area of research
10. Type of manuscript
Some journals only accept certain types of manuscripts for review.
a. Check the journal website or the print version for information on types of manuscripts accepted for review
b. Contact the Editor in Chief
11. Review or publication fees
Some journals impose fees for reviewing an article, article processing fees, page fees or fees for use of color images or
other special media formats. It is not uncommon to have a considerable range in article processing fees among journals
with similar scope and focus. Some journals also offer discounts on article processing fees to authors who use certain
bibliographic software for management of references.
Last Updated February 2010
a. Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities
b. Check the journal website or the print version for information on publication fees and/or discounts
12. Funding agency policies
Some authors whose articles were generated as a result of grant funded research are required to comply with funding
agency policies such as the NIH Public Access Policy or the Wellcome Trust Open and Unrestricted Access to Published
Research Policy. If an author is required to comply with funding agency policies they should verify that a journal will
allow authors to comply before submitting a manuscript.
a. Check the journal website or the print version for information on funding agency policies (usually in the
Instructions for Authors section)
b. Review the journal copyright form
c. Contact the Editor in Chief
13. Rights for authors
There are journals that allow authors to retain rights to their work in order to be able to re-use or disseminate the work
after publication. Some rights include being able to post the peer-reviewed version or final published article on a
laboratory website or to re-use a graph or figure in a future work or retaining the oral rights to the work. Some journals
offer authors many rights upfront with other publishers providing limited rights.
a. Check the journal website or print version for information on author rights
b. Review the journal copyright form
c. Contact the Editor in Chief
14. Supplemental data
Some journals accept supplemental data associated with an article and allow for access to the data on the journal
website. Other journals go as far to make a commitment to archive the data and to provide long term access to data
sets on behalf of authors.
a. Check the journal website or print version for information on supplemental data policies
b. Contact the Editor in Chief
Other Factors:
o Does the journal have a limit on the size of the manuscript? Some journals have a word count limit.
o Does the journal provide unrestricted access to all articles within a set time frame?
o Does the journal provide free reprints or offprints to authors?
o Does the journal offer a manuscript template for authors?
o Does the journal offer an extensive “Instructions for Authors” section?
o Is the journal an open access journal?
Resources:
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals
Mulford Health Science Library
Instructions for Authors in the Health Sciences
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