This is the page you are looking at https://awandahl.github.io/isp_60_choosing_journal/

This is a support page and tool box for the ISP Webinar: Choosing a journal held at 2021-05-25.

Anders Wändahl email: aw@kth.se

Slides for this session


What is important to you when choosing a journal?


Why should you do this?

You will eventually arrive to a well motivated decision of a journal where to send your manuscript and you can - with pride - say something like…

“I have choosen to submit to the “International Journal of Fracture” because it is perfect for my topic, they accept the kind of article I have written, the metrics of the journal seems to be fairly good in comparison to other journals in the same field, the journal is covered by the major databases in my field, there is an Open Access option and the APC is waived by the publisher, the turn-around-time and acceptance rate seems fairly decent and my supervisor is also happy about my decison. By checking all aspects of this journal I also know that it isn’t among the shady journals that sometimes are called predatory.”


1. Find a candidate based on topic/subject, article type and study type:

The aim is to enter an abstract, and possibly a title and some keywords into a database and get examples of journals that has published in similar topics before.

Read About the Journal (Aims & scope) - Read Instructions for Authors

General non publisher-specific databases:

Publisher specific:


2. Check coverage/indexing in major bibliographic databases (database indexing)

The aim is to check that my journal is covered in as many databases as possible. The reason for this is that you really want your articla to be findable and visible by your colleagues. If you know that your colleagues use a specific database when they look for information in your topic, then make sure that your upcoming article will be included in that source. The information about the specific databases that cover a specific journal is called “database indexing” in librarian lingo.

General databases:

Subject specific:

Analytical Abstracts

Art & Architecture Complete

Chemical Abstracts/SciFinder

EconLit

Ei Compendex (find excel-sheet on page)

GEOBASE (find excel-sheet on page)

GeoRef

Inspec

Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts

MEDLINE/PubMed

Materials Science & Engineering Database

MathSciNet
Click on the journals tab

zbMATH NEWS FLASH - this database is Open Access as of 2021!!! Enjoy!!!

  An example on how to find information about a journal in a subject specific database : mathematics


3. Check journal ranking in your subject

The aim is to compare different journals in terms of the average number of citations received. This is called the Impact Factor in common language.

CWTS Journal Indicators</span>

Journal Citations Reports

Scimago Journal & Country Rank</span>

Scopus Sources

“Norwegian list”


4. Check the Open Access options

The aim is to check wether the journal you have in mind has any option for Open Access publishing (OA). To publish OA has become the norm and most research funders require that your research results is in the open, for everyone to read.


5. Check the funders’ and journals’ Research Data requirements

The aim is to find out if your research funder has any special research data requirements. Some journals and publishers also have demands when it comes to accompanying data. One very basic requirement is that you at least should have a plan for how you handle your data, a so called Data Management Plan (DMP).


6. Check Acceptance Rate, Turn-Around-Time, Peer Review and editorial policies

The aim is to find the average time it takes from the moment you submit your manuscript to the first decision, possible acceptance and finally real publication. Another number that is of interest is the likeliness that your manuscript is accepted, the so called acceptence rate. The acceptance rate is usually much lower in high ranking journals. It’s also useful to know a little about the peer-review process.

Read About the Journal (Aims & scope) - Read Instructions for Authors

Peer review

Editorial policies


7. Other aspects on your choice of journal

- The scientific strength of your paper


Have you learnt anything? Comments? Reactions?


Questions from the audience (before the presentation)

  1. What are the necessary criteria for choosing a perfect research journal for publishing research article? Ho
  2. I would like to know the best Journal to publish research work based on Foliar/plant Elemental analysis using X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry(XRF)
  3. How best to access journals of choice especially those that are not open to the public?
  4. How to identify a predator journal?
  5. How to conduct systematic literature review
  6. Some journals are more expensive, is it worth it ?
  7. How to know the impact of a journal before going for it?
  8. Could you talk about MDPI and whether you consider it predatory? See https://paolocrosetto.wordpress.com/2021/04/12/is-mdpi-a-predatory-publisher/
  9. I will be happy to learn more from the personal experiences of the presenters.
  10. I have needed some simulation process like EMTP/ATP.
  11. How to check if a journal is predatory
  12. How to choose good journal for publication of research work?
  13. Can we get the information and journals related to Lightning, Atmospheric Aerosols, Solar Energy and Atmospheric Sciences including the Climate Change or not
  14. Are there any fund source that can support for research publication fee?
  15. can we prefer the publication of scientific articles on online journals?
  16. If possible, I would like to see more expreience on how to deal with spam email from predators.
  17. What does it take to set up a viable scholarly journal?
  18. Can u explain about to choose topic that relationship about the topics that we want to find in journals?
  19. We need the applications to generate the references in the writing of our articles and briefs
  20. I want to know more human capital development journal and publication related.
  21. The topic was essential as there was a problem for postgraduate students to select which.
  22. How to choose less article publication charge with high impact journals?
  23. Should we rely so much on IMPACT FACTORS in order to choose a journal for publications?
  24. Why is choosing journals necessary?
  25. What are the most popular topics of the journals in this web?
  26. I would like to know a publisher best suited in XRF AND PLANT ANALYSIS
  27. I would like to know if after this webinar we shall able according to our topic to choose a journal where we can publish our research work easily ?
  28. I am very interested in the topic, but my question is related to Labs éequipement. I am évolving in the field of thermal energy. Would you mind helping us to get Labs equipement ?