How to Select a Journal for Publication: Major Points to Consider
You can select a journal for publication by looking at its audience reach, publishing timeline, scope, peer-reviewed publications, acceptance rate, and other factors.
It is important to look at important points before choosing a journal to publish your article(s). Take note of these points to choose the perfect publisher to give your research the spread and visibility you want.
How to Select a Journal for Publication: Major Points to Consider
1. Audience
Your preferred journal will largely determine the audience you want your article to reach. It is important to get your article more visibility if you want citations and easy access to your research.
You must check the journal and their reach to ensure they have the broad distribution network your article needs. Next, you need to make sure your publisher runs a popular online platform to give readers an opportunity to see your papers online.
You may decide to sign up with a subscription-based or Open Access journal; the choice is yours. Open Access journals tend to have more readers; however, the value and research put into your topic might make it worthy of subscription access.
2. Timeline for publishing
A good article manuscript takes a long time to get published. Your article may take between 5 months and 1 year to get published in a popular, high-quality journal. However, the rejection time from such journals is usually within six (6) weeks. Some journals may decide to reject articles within 2 weeks if it does not follow set guidelines.
Reputable journals usually have busy seasons where they get to publish hundreds of articles within a short while. You can wait out this season and submit your article for publishing during less-busy periods. Your journal may take no longer than a few months to go live on a respected journal using this method.
3. Scope
You need to make sure your articles align with the scope of a publisher before choosing them. Your research must be in line with a journal or risk a higher chance of rejection. Journals must have similarities with your research topic, even if no paper has been published related to yours before.
The best way to know if a journal is best for your article is by:
- Reading abstracts of some articles,
- Checking through topics for articles similar to yours, and
- Reading through the journal’s main page for information about articles they accept
Following these steps ensures you can get your article approved and publish it in a suitable journal without issues.
4. Peer-reviewed publications
Peer-reviewed publications earn a lot of respect in the research and academic community. These publications go through rigorous editorial reviews to ensure they are legitimate and relevant to the topic of discussion.
Publishing your article in a journal with a high count of peer-reviewed publications gives your work a greater chance of reaching a wider audience.
5. Indexing
Correct indexing of a journal boosts their reputation and helps to achieve wider coverage through trusted databases. You can decide to post your articles with a journal indexed on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) or other popular options.
You can check the journals listed on these indexes to ensure your articles will get the coverage you want. Countless journals claim to be listed in popular indexes, but it is better to confirm before opting to publish your articles with any of them.
The list of indexes are usually free to view. Some also offer you quick search options to allow you check for journals in moments. After confirming the journal(s) listing, you can go ahead to publish with them if all other factors check out. Popular databases like the DOAJ usually look at the quality of papers, frequency of publications, reputation, and review process of journals before indexing.
Looking through popular databases might be a way to assess several points of a journal with ease.
6. Impact factor
The JIF or Journal Impact Factor is a suitable method to determine the reputation and quality of a journal for publication. JIF shows the number of references cited which supports topics already published in the journal.
Many reputable researchers and article writers consider JIF as a valid element to know how important a journal is before publication. Employers, institutions, and respected researchers usually give out grants and job offers to article authors on journals with high JIF indices.
However, it’s worth noting that some authors may resort to ‘citation stacking’ while trying to improve their article(s) reach. Such a practice could affect the JIF index of a journal after deep assessment. Some modern tools now show true metrics employers and institutions can use to measure the JIF index of a publication.
Other tools also show researchers the best journals to publish their articles through this index.
7. Strict limitations
Many reputable journals usually set guidelines for article publishers to follow. These limitations stop article writers from exceeding a particle word count or circumventing fee payments to publish their work. You need to look at the entire list of limitations posted by a journal; it makes rejection rates lower and increases chances of first-time acceptance.
8. Acceptance rate
A journal with high acceptance rates should NOT be your first choice to publish articles. Journals with high acceptance percentages may bypass essential checks to verify the veracity, authenticity, and relevance of journals before publication.
Your article will perform better when you publish it in on a journal with lower acceptance rates. Journals with a lower acceptance percentage do not ignore essential checks to ensure your article meets best standards. Publishing your journal increases your chances of garnering citations and access to grants for more research.
9. Similar publications
You can use terms in your article to search through the directory of published works on a preferred journal. A journal with existing works related to your article gives your research a higher chance of acceptance. You can also look through these publications to get tips about structuring your article for easier acceptance.