Deciding Where to Publish

This page provides guidelines for selecting a scholarly journal to submit your paper. There are many journals to choose from, as new journals are launched regularly. New publishing considerations, such as article processing charges, further complicate the decision of where to submit your paper. 

Here, we describe strategies to identify potential journals and considerations to help determine which journal is best for your paper. 

How can you identify potential journals?

Consider the journals that you have read or cited for your work

Review the publications in your article's reference list or bibliography to see if you cited some journals more than others or to make note of journals that published artciles that were especially relevant to your work. 

If you use citation management software, like Zotero or Mendeley, use the software's sorting and filtering options to identify journals that you have read and consulted.

Talk to your supervisor / mentor about where they publish their work

Ask for their recommendations of journals to consider. Inquire about professional associations in your discipline and whether they publish journals. 

Search relevant databases to see where similar research has been published

Scopus and Web of Science are good starting points since they have broad subject coverage. Review our Research Guides for your disciplinary area to identify subject-specific databases to search.

In the database(s), search using keywords for your article. Then use the databases's filters to see which journals are most common amng that set of results.

Using a journal finder / selector

Journal finder tools search your title and / or abstract against journals in a particular discipline or from a specific publisher or group of publishers. Some tools require you to share your email address.

We recommend publishing in an open access journal to maximize the visibility of your work, to support equitable access to research, and meet some national and international grant requirements.

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a comprehensive database of open access journals.

  • DOAJ has a rigorous vetting process for journals.
  • Very new journals will not be included.
  • Search for journals by keyword or browse subjects.
  • You can limit your search to include only journals that don't charge Open Access fees. 

Ulrichs Global Serials Directory is a comprehensive bibliographic database that provides authoritative information on journals published throughout the world.

  • Search for journals by keyword.
  • Open Access titles are indicated with the OA logo in the results page.
  • To limit to only open access journals, go to Advanced Search, click on More Limiters, and check Open Access under 'Key Feature'.
  • Many types of serials are included, so limiting to Journal under Serial Type can be helpful. 

What should you consider when selecting a journal to submit your paper to?

Scope

Review the journal's scope or focus statement to see if your paper's topic fits within it. The scope can also tell you a bit about the journal's audience, so you can determine whether that's the same audience that you're hoping your paper will reach.

After reviewing the scope, look at some recent issues of the journal to see if your paper would fit well among recently published articles.

Indexing

Check to see if the journal is indexed by reputable sources like the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) or relevant subject databases.

Indexers vet journals against best practice standards. New journals are often not yet elgible to be included in indexes. When that is the case, you will need to rely on other considerations to assess a new journal.

Editorial board

Does the journal's editorial board have recognized experts with full affiliations? Can you easily find information about them, their academic affiliations, and their expertise? If in doubt, contact them and ask about their experience with the journal or publisher.

Is the same editor associated with multiple disciplinary journals? It is highly unlikely that someone can edit journals in diverse subject areas with authority. Most academics are experts in a narrow range of fields. 

This may be a sign that the publisher is predatory or exploitative, seeking to take advantage of authors. 

Contact information

Can you easily find complete contact information, including an address, and does it seem reasonable? Be cautious of organizations that only provide a web contact form.

Review process

Does the publisher have a clear and transparent description of the review process? This information should be easy to find on the website.

Promises of quick review and rapid turnaround should be met with skepticism and may be a sign of a predatory or exploitative journal. 

Article processing charges (if applicable)

Is information about article processing charges clear and easily attainable? Most open access publishers do not charge article processing charges; however, those that do should have policies that are well-defined, clearly stated, and prominently displayed.

Western Libraries has several memberships with publishers that provide a discount or waivers on the article processing charges.

Learn more about Western Libraries Financial Support of OA

Author rights

Are the author rights including copyright easy to find and understand? Does the journal website clearly indicate rights for use and re-use of content at the article level? For example, can a Creative Commons license be applied? Can you share a copy of your published article or your accepted manuscript in an institutional respository such as Scholarship@Western?

Most commerical publishers will require that you grant them an exclusive license or sign over your copyright to them to publish the work in their journal. Exclusive licenses and signing away your copyright may prevent you from sharing your own work on your website or in Scholarship@Western, your institutional repository, and may hinder your ability to fulfill granting agencies' requirements for open access sharing.

What about emails inviting you to submit to a particular journal?

Be wary of unsolicited email invitations to submit to journals or to become editorial board members.

You may receive email invitations to send in your manuscript to a particular journal. The name of the journal may  look familiar and relevant to your research. There may be a link to the journal website and a list of where the journal is indexed, including Ulrichs, EBSCO, and ProQuest. The email may say that there is only a nominal article processing charge and it may promise a quick turnaround for peer review and publication.

However, as with all spam email, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Review the "How to Assess a Journal" (aka "How not to publish in an undesirable journal") infographic from the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) to help make an informed decision about responding to email invitations. 

If you need assistance or have any questions, contact the Research and Scholarly Communications (RSC) team.