How to choose the most appropriate journal for your research paper

Important factors to watch out for

Submitting a manuscript to an inappropriate journal is a frequent problem among researchers that might result in the manuscript being rejected prior to peer review. By selecting a journal that is related to your work, you increase your chances of having your manuscript accepted. Consider the following points:

The issues covered by the journal.

If your study is applied, submit it to a journal that publishes applied science; if it is clinical, submit it to a journal that publishes clinical research; and if it is fundamental, submit it to a journal that publishes fundamental research. It may be more convenient to explore a list of journals organized by subject area.
Audience of the journal. Is your study going to be of interest to scholars in adjacent fields? If this is the case, a journal with a broad scope of coverage may be the best option. If your work is likely to be viewed by just researchers in your area, you should submit it to a field-specific journal.

The article kinds published by the journal.

If you wish to publish a review, a case study, or a theorem, check that the journal you choose to submit your manuscript to accepts these types of publications.

Journal’s reputation.

The Impact Factor of a journal is one indicator of its reputation, although it is not necessarily the most critical. Consider the journal’s author’s prominence and whether your study is on a comparable level. Which of the following is true for you personally: Is the journal known for its rapid release of papers; how significant is “time to publication” to you?

Does it publish prominent work within my research scope?

When determining appropriate journals for publishing your own work, begin with what you have read. You should already be familiar with comparable published studies. Which peer-reviewed journal published the studies? The same journals may be suitable for your manuscript, so compile a list. If you require more journals to examine, you may do a literature search for previously published publications in your area that are comparable in breadth and influence on the field and determine their publication venue.

Author instructions

Once you’ve compiled a list of possible target journals, visit and study the journals’ websites. Each journal should include a page dedicated to author instructions, which should include information on a number of the characteristics described above.

Journals on your list that do not seem to be a good fit for your manuscript based on the characteristics stated above should be deleted. Among the remaining journals, one or more are likely to stand out as very strong candidates. Consider whether any extra experiments will increase your chances of publishing in your preferred journal. If you are pressed for time to publish, determine which of the remaining journals provides quick publishing; if none do, determine which journal has the highest publication frequency. If your primary objective is to reach the broadest potential audience, you should seriously examine prospective journals that offer open access. Anyone may read your essay online for free, which increases the likelihood that it will be read and quoted.

Once you’ve identified the journal that you believe is the greatest fit for your research and objectives, it’s typically a good idea to select your second- and third-choice journals. This manner, if your first preference journal rejects your work, you may immediately submit to your second choice journal.

Some prominent journal finder tools for researchers

Journal Locator by Elsevier

Elsevier Journal Finder assists you in identifying Elsevier journals that may be the greatest fit for your scientific work. The Journal Finder matches your work to Elsevier journals based on intelligent search technologies and field-specific vocabulary.

EndNote Match

EndNote Match can assist you in locating the appropriate journal for your work using just a few important pieces of information—your title, abstract, and references.

Journal and Author Name Estimator (i.e. JANE)

Have you recently completed a manuscript and are unsure which journal to submit it to? Alternatively, perhaps you’re looking for publications to reference in your paper. Alternatively, are you an editor looking for reviewers for a certain paper? Jane is available for assistance!

Publish or Flourish

FlourishOA is a database of high-quality, high-value open access publications.

Springer Journal Suggester

To find a journal for your work, use the Springer Journal Selector to search all Springer and BioMed Central journals.

Think. Check. Submit

Think. Check. Submit. is a campaign aimed at assisting researchers in locating reliable sources of information.
For their research, they consult journals. It is a straightforward checklist that scholars can use to evaluate a journal’s or publisher’s credentials.

Master List (Web of Science – Clarivate)

The Web of Science Master list is a collection of over 24,000 journals that are indexed by the Web of Science platform. Additionally, there is a manuscript matcher tool.