Skip to Main Content

Faculty Support: Research and Publishing

Step 1 - Identifying Journals or Publishers for your Publication

Identifying Journals for Your Publication:

Identify three to five key journals in your discipline that are regarded as important.  This may be accomplished by accessing one or two of the databases containing journals in your discipline and using key word searches on your topic.  Those journal titles that appear most frequently are most likely a good fit for your publication.  From the three to give journal titles identified as frequently appearing and important, access each journal title's website.  Each journal's website will provide you with information such as submission guidelines for authors, acceptance rates, restrictions, etc.

Considerations for selecting a journal for publication include:

  • Is the publisher legitimate?  Avoid predatory publishers.
  • Is your research a good fit for the journal?  E.g., does the journal primarily publish case studies, or articles with datasets?
  • How long will the publisher take to review and publish your article?  Normally you must submit your article to one journal at a time.
  • What is the acceptance rate of the journal?  This will impact likely acceptance of your work.

     Helpful Resources:

  1. JournalGuide - a free tool to compare best journal for your publication
  2. Eigenfactor - rates the influence of a journal
  3. Google Scholar Metrics - provides visibility and influence of recent articles in scholarly publications
  4. Cabell's Directory of Publishing - provides journal  publication acceptance rates.  Search our databases.
  5. Elsevier's Journal Finder -locate a specific journal or find a journal for your publication using the abstract matcher feature.
  6. Springer Journal Suggester - tool for matching sample text to journals published by Springer
  7. Journal Citation Reports (JCR) - Provides citation data for journals across nearly two hundred subject categories.  Browse by subject category or title.  Identify journals with high impact factors, ranking, etc. Search our databases.
  8. MLA Directory of Periodicals - searchable directory.  Provides publication details, submission requirement, etc..  Search our databases.
  9. CiteScore - identify and compare journal impact metrics across a range of disciplines.
  10. SCImago Journal Rank - publicly available portal with indicators which can be used to assess and analyze scientific domains.

Identifying Publishers for Your Book:

There are several tools you can use to assist you in identifying possible publishers who may have an interest in publishing your book:

  1. Association of American University Presses (AAUP) - see Tips for Finding a Publisher.
  2. AAUP Book Publisher Subject Grid - identifies publishers by discipline.
  3. Literary Marketplace.
  4. Directory of Open Access Books.

Examples of publisher catalogs on their websites are:

  1. Luminos - University of California Press. 
  2. University of Chicago Press Catalogs. 
  3. Oxford University Press Catalogues. 
  4. Yale University Press Catalogs. 

Open Access

You may also choose to publish with an Open Access publisher.

  • Why Open Matters - SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)

Many Open Access journals are peer-reviewed and have excellent impact factors. They are free of charge to the user and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. Additionally, most traditional publishers such as Elsevier, Wiley, and Springer also provide open access options.

Books