Think

Thinking on where to publish is the first stage of the strategic publishing model.

When choosing a journal for publishing, consider:

  • journal quality
  • journal reputation and practices
  • publisher reputation and practices
  • relevance to your topic
  • discipline specific requirements

Strategic publishing

A strategic publishing strategy is supported by making informed decisions about possible outlets for your work, before publication. The following guide can help you to select the journal to submit your research in by having you think about what outcomes are important to you and your discipline. These outcomes will vary from researcher to researcher and will depend on the stage of your academic career. 

Some examples of success may include:

  • Showcasing your work and your institute's work
  • Wider dissemination of your research
  • Increased funding and collaborative opportunities
  • Creating a deeper engagement with your research field and the wider community.

Create a shortlist

Creating a shortlist of journal titles will let you compare a range of measures, prioritise your specific needs, and shape your strategic publishing designs. Three approaches to pre-select your journal titles are:

  1. Which journals do you cite?
  2. Which journals do your supervisor and/or successful colleagues publish in? Have any specific titles been recommended to you?
  3. Which journals are highly recommended in online journal selection tools?

It is important to remember that tools developed by publishers will only suggest journals drawn from their suite. Generic tools have been developed to cover a broader range of titles but may not include granular information such as details about licenses, article processing charges, and the publishing process. Be aware that some tools may offer additional reporting or manuscript editing services for a fee. 

Check out the UQ Journal search tool to inform your publishing decisions. 

Check out the following journal selector tools for more help:

  • Edanz Journal Selector covers over 28,655 titles across a range of multi-disciplinary journals not specific to any publisher
  • Research Square JournalGuide covers over 46,000 titles with a broad coverage of publishers and disciplines
  • JANE Journal Author Name Estimator (the Biosemantics Group) updates its coverage monthly and searches across all PubMed journals published in the last 10 years
  • Elsevier Journal finder covers over 2,200 titles searching health sciences, life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences from Elsevier journals only
  • Springer Journal Suggester covers over 2,500 titles searching multi-disciplinary journals in Springer and BioMed Central
  • Wiley Journal Finder covers over 1,600 titles searching multi-disciplinary journals from Wiley.

Refine your shortlist

Further refine your shortlist by looking at:

  • Journal aims and scope
  • Journal quality
  • Peer review process
  • Publisher reputation and credibility
  • Promotion and availability of your article.

Journal aims and scope

Every journal will have information about their aims and scope available on the journal website. Check sections such as "Instructions for authors", "About the journal", or "Aims and scope". 

Evaluate your research against the aims and scope of the journal to ensure that your article fits in the subject area of the journal and will appeal to its readers. 

Journal quality

To assess journal quality, compare your shortlisted journal titles across a range of points. There are well-accepted and defined standards used to assess the quality of scholarly publications, such as:

  • Indexing
  • Metrics
  • Peer review process
  • Discipline-specific prestige.

Indexing

Journals can be indexed in a variety of databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, or PubMed. Journals that are indexed by services like these must go through a rigorous selection process. For example, the Scopus journal indexing selection criteria looks for journals that have:

  • High-quality peer reviewed content
  • Regular publishing schedules
  • Content with international appeal
  • Publication ethics statements.

Some journals you are considering publishing in may not be indexed. This does not mean they are of poor quality. Newer journals or journals with a specific regional interest may not be indexed but may still be appropriate outlets for your research. If you would like to engage with a specific group of researchers, an unindexed publication could be the best place for your article. 

Search for your shortlisted titles in Scopus, Web of Science, or other databases used in your discipline to determine where they are indexed. 

Metrics

There are a number of metrics used to measure journal quality such as:

  • Percentage of documents cited
  • Citations per article from within or outside the journal
  • Self-citations.

Indexing services have their own journal rating systems. Some of the common systems are Journal Citation Reports and CiteScore (Scopus Sources). If you are looking to publish in a Q1 journal, metrics may be an important factor in your decision making. 

There may also be discipline specific factors to consider. For example, if your research is in business you may also look at the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal rankings (requires a registration to view the list). 

Peer review

A stringent peer review process is an important indicator of journal quality. After submitting an article to a journal, it will go through editorial review where it may be rejected. If passed, it will continue to peer review. This involves a review of your research by others in your field. 

Peer review is designed to ensure only high quality research is published and is usually:

  • Single blind - the reviewers know you are the author but you don't know who is reviewing your article
  • Double blind - the reviewers don't know the author and you don't know who is reviewing your article
  • Open review - the reviewers know you are the author and you know who is reviewing your article.

Most journals do not make the peer reviews publically available, though some do. You can use Web of Science to see what type of peer review is used by the journals on your shortlist. 

Ulrichsweb can tell you whether your shortlisted journals have a peer review process. You can also see whether a journal has had a name change and where it is indexed. 

Publisher reputation and credibility

It is important to ensure you are submitting your research to a credible publisher. Before submitting, visit the journal or publisher website. Check the quality of the site. Indicators of a reputable publisher include:

  • Easy navigation
  • Good grammar and spelling
  • Clear contact details
  • Findable author instructions.

You should also examine the following:

  • Editorial board / staff - Does the journal clearly state who is on the editorial board? Are the editors respected researchers in their fields?
  • Publishing policies - Does the publisher have policies relating to peer review, authorship, copyright, open access, article sharing, and dispute resolution?
  • Membership - Is the publisher a member of COPE, OASPA, WAME, or another organisation? Memberships to recognised authorities indicate the publisher participates in and abides by ethical practices and standards. 

You can also search online or in academic forums to see whether the journal has received positive feedback from other researchers. 

Promotion and availability of your research

Choose a publisher with a good record of author support with regards to providing opportunities and resources to ensure dissemination of your work. The exposure of your work depends on the outlet being easy to discover and access. Consider how the publisher will support the accessibility and visibility of your work. 

  • Does the publisher offer an option to make your work open access (OA), and which models do they support?
  • Do the OA options include an article publishing charge (APC)?
  • What is the expected turnaround time for publication? 
  • Will you receive an electronic link to share your work with colleagues upon publication?
  • Does the publisher offer alternatives to  publish in languages other than English?
  • To what extent will the publisher provide promotional support for your work?
  • Is there support for optimising the visibility of your work through recognised persistent identifiers (ISSN, DOI, ORCiD ID)?