Before beginning to compose the work, authors must make the critical decision of which journal to submit it to. Choosing a Journal is a critical decision that decides the fate of an article and the rapidity of publication.
What are the steps involved in choosing a Journal?
Do Research
Go through a variety of periodicals in your subject. Use sites like Google Scholar Metrics, Journal Citation Reports, Elsevier’s Journal Finder, Scimago Journal Rank, and your library’s subscriptions to determine which journals have published research on your subject area. Discuss with colleagues, supervisors, and your institution’s librarians to pick the correct selection of journals. Ask a variety of questions to help you narrow down your search, depending on who you are dealing with.
Prepare a Journal List
Compile a preliminary list of appropriate journals. Choose either general interest has a wide audience vs Speciality less audience. You may refine your shortlist by asking the correct questions once you’ve created one. Recognize your target market. Investigate and Use journal suggestion tools to help you narrow down your search.
Check the Journal Requirements
Check the requirements of each journal such as the topics covered by the journal. Scan the articles in the Journal and decide if your paper will fit in it. Observe the Importance of Study, Rigor of Study, Quality of Writing. Review the journal’s aims and scope, since this will help you determine whether your article is appropriate for the journal’s target audience and linked with the journal’s mission.
Read the Authors guidelines properly
Review the editorial board of the Journal. Examine the policies and practices of the journal. Recognize your publishing possibilities. Recognize how the journal’s performance is evaluated. The types of articles that are published in the journal. If you want to publish a Review Article, for example, see if the journal accepts them. If you want to present a case study or a theorem, make sure the journal you want to submit to accepts the type of manuscript you want to submit. Check the word limit for the articles.
Journal’s Target Audience
If you think your study will be of interest to researchers in other fields, you should submit it to a journal that covers a wide range of topics. If only researchers in your field are likely to be interested in your research, a field-specific journal would be the best choice.
Determine the Journal’s Impact Factor
The impact factor of a journal is one indicator of its reputation, but it is not always the most important. You should think about the prestige of the authors who publish in the journal, as well as the size of the readership. Publishing in a Journal with a High Impact factor can increase the visibility of your study and the number of people who read it.
Conclusion
It is clear from the discussion above that choosing the journal to submit a paper should come before composing the manuscript. This is significant since publication in a reputable journal elevates the article’s status. Scientists have a plethora of knowledge that can benefit and advance the scientific community. The majority of researchers concentrate their efforts on peer-reviewed journals. Choosing the right journal before writing will save your time and effort in the long run.