Choosing a Journal to Publish Your Research

There are a number of factors that researchers may consider when choosing a journal to publish their research.

Ideally a journal would be:

• High quality
• Widely consulted
• Rigorously peer-reviewed
• Well-edited
• Highly regarded in your field

But most importantly, you need to find a journal that will actually publish your work.

This guide will discuss important questions to consider when choosing a journal and offer some useful tools for answering those questions and finding a journal that meets your personal criteria.

• Journal Finder - a compendium of all the journals the USAHS library subscribes to
• PubMed Journal Database – Search for indexed journals
• Web of Science Master Journal List – Find journals indexed by Web of Science
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – Index of high-quality, open access journals

Citation metrics help evaluate the impact and reach of a journal based on how often its articles are cited.

Common Metrics:

• Impact Factor (from Journal Citation Reports)
• SCImago Journal Rank (SJR)
• h-index
• Eigenfactor Score

• Google Scholar Metrics – Includes h-index and articles per publication
• Find definitions and explanations of various metrics
• Consider challenges of Journal Metrics

Open access is a way of publishing that makes the content accessible without charge to the end-user. There are a range of economic models to support this, but typically some form of article processing charge or APC is paid at publication to support the infrastructure. and it can be a tremendous cost-saving for institutions and researchers. Open access publishing is increasingly being required by funding sources like the federal government or by institutional principles.

Take a look at our Open Access Guide for more information!

Understanding your rights helps you retain control over your work, share your research widely, and comply with funding requirements.        

Things to consider:

• Who owns the copyright?
• What license applies to your work (e.g., Creative Commons)?

Take a look at our copyright guides for more information!

• Copyright
• Copyright Retention for Researchers

Predatory journals exploit researchers by charging fees without providing legitimate editorial or publishing services (e.g., peer review).        

Suggested Links:

• Take a look at our Predatory Publishing Guide for addition information!
• Think. Check. Submit. – Checklist to assess journal legitimacy