Journal Selection for Publishing
Selection of the most suitable journal for publishing involves two essential steps – finding the journal and assessing its quality:
- Journals can be searched in various sources, but the most convenient and reliable ones are: bibliographic databases and publishers' websites.
- The quality of a journal can be assessed from a variety of perspectives. However, it has become a common practice to evaluate journals by their values of journal citation indicators.
Journal Search in Databases
For finding reliable, high quality journals (peer reviewed, referenced) it is advisable to perform the journal search in bibliographic databases.
It is important to note that both the coverage and variety of indexed journals and the classification of disciplines vary between databases, so journal search results will also differ.
It is important to note that both the coverage and variety of indexed journals and the classification of disciplines vary between databases, so journal search results will also differ.
Web of Science (WoS) indexed journals can be searched using the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) tool or at the Master Journal List website:
JCR tool allows to perform a targeted search for journals [1] (by title, ISSN number, or keywords), and/or filter JCR indexed journals by selected discipline and/or other criteria [3]:
Methods and criteria for narrowing JCR journal search:
JCR tool allows to perform a targeted search for journals [1] (by title, ISSN number, or keywords), and/or filter JCR indexed journals by selected discipline and/or other criteria [3]:
Methods and criteria for narrowing JCR journal search:
- Targeted search by name / ISSN / category / keywords
- Search in results
- Additional journal selection criteria/filters
- Selection of indicators to be displayed for the searched journals
Scopus indexed periodical sources can be searched in the Source section of the database. It should be noted, that at the Scopus Source page not only journals, but also other type periodical sources, such as conference proceedings, books series and trade journals, are listed and can be searched.
It is also possible to download lists of all Scopus indexed sources in Excel format, which can be filtered by subject areas or other selected criteria.
Scopus sources can be searched by:
The search can be further narrowed by specifying additional criteria (Display options).
Scopus indexed journals can also be searched on the Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) website. Here the journal search can also be refined by selected subject areas or categories, country/region, publication type and year:
It is also possible to download lists of all Scopus indexed sources in Excel format, which can be filtered by subject areas or other selected criteria.
Scopus sources can be searched by:
- Title
- Subject area
- Publisher
- ISSN
The search can be further narrowed by specifying additional criteria (Display options).
Scopus indexed journals can also be searched on the Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) website. Here the journal search can also be refined by selected subject areas or categories, country/region, publication type and year:
Journal Search on Publisher Websites
Journals can also be searched (by browsing or within specific disciplines) on the individual publishers’ websites:
Emerald Journals
Springer Nature Journals
Oxford Journals
Which PLOS journal best fits your research?
PubMed PubReMiner
Sage Journals
Science Journals
Springer Journals By Subject Area
Taylor and Francis Online
Wiley Find a Journal
Having a prepared manuscript, the most convenient way to find the journal most suitable for its publishing is to use the journal search for publishing tools provided by some publishers, which select the most appropriate journals based on the title, summary, and keywords of the manuscript:
Elsevier Journal Finder
Springer Journal Suggester
Wiley Journal Finder
A similar approach is applied in the Match Manuscript tool available on the Master Joural List website, which allows to search for WoS indexed journals most suitable for publishing the manuscript (in order to use this tool, it is required to have a user account, but the tool can be accessed by login into WoS account used for all other WoS products):
If it is intended to publish article or other type of publication by open access model, suitable journals from various publishers can be found in the Open Access source registries, databases, or by filtering open access sources at publisher websites.
Emerald Journals
Springer Nature Journals
Oxford Journals
Which PLOS journal best fits your research?
PubMed PubReMiner
Sage Journals
Science Journals
Springer Journals By Subject Area
Taylor and Francis Online
Wiley Find a Journal
Having a prepared manuscript, the most convenient way to find the journal most suitable for its publishing is to use the journal search for publishing tools provided by some publishers, which select the most appropriate journals based on the title, summary, and keywords of the manuscript:
Elsevier Journal Finder
Springer Journal Suggester
Wiley Journal Finder
A similar approach is applied in the Match Manuscript tool available on the Master Joural List website, which allows to search for WoS indexed journals most suitable for publishing the manuscript (in order to use this tool, it is required to have a user account, but the tool can be accessed by login into WoS account used for all other WoS products):
If it is intended to publish article or other type of publication by open access model, suitable journals from various publishers can be found in the Open Access source registries, databases, or by filtering open access sources at publisher websites.
Journal Quality Assessment
The quality of journals can be assessed in different aspects, considering:
However, nowadays the assessment of journal quality is mainly based on citations accrued by the publications published in it. For convenience, citation data of all journal’s publications are expressed as journal citation indicators.
The main bibliographic databases (WoS and Scopus) provide various journal citation indicators, but the main and the most widely used for evaluation purposes are: WoS – Journal Impact Factor (JIF); Scopus – CiteScore, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) and Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) indicators.
More about the main journal citation indicators provided by WoS and Scopus – their calculation principles, differences and limitations – provided here >>>
When assessing the quality of individual journals, it is important to pay attention to the year in which the indicators were calculated. This is especially important when citation and/or position indicators are used to evaluate individual publications, as only the values of the indicators corresponding to the year of publication should be used for this purpose.
Aiming to search only for journals that meet specific quality criteria, journal search in the databases can be restricted by specifying the desired journal quality criteria. For this purpose, the ranking of journals in research categories expressed in quartiles (Q) is the most commonly used quality criterion.
In the main bibliographic databases (WoS and Scopus), journals are divided into category quartiles according to the values of the main citation indicators used in that database (in WoS – by JIF, in Scopus – by CiteScore).
By restricting the journal search by quartiles, the results will include those journals that fall into the selected quartiles in at least one of the research categories they represent. For example, if you search for Q1 journals, the results will return all journals that fall into the Q1 quartile in at least one category, but in other categories that the journal may be assigned to, it may occupy lower quartiles. Therefore, if it is necessary to select the highest quality journals in a specific field of science, it is recommended to select the research fields/categories of interest in the journal search criteria first.
The most convenient way to search WoS indexed journals occupying specific category quartiles, is to use an additional filter in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) tool:
In Scopus database the search for journals belonging to specific quartiles can also be performed:
In Scopus database does not provide direct quartile (Q) values for each source – they must be determined by the journal’s position (rank) in represented research category expressed in percentiles: in order for the journal to be included the in Q1 or Q2, its ranking value in percentiles must be at least 50.
Journal ranks in percentiles at the Scopus Source page source list table are provided only for the category in which the journal occupies the highest position (Highest percentile) compared to the ranks in other journal represented categories. Journal's ranking values in all research categories it is assigned to are provided in the journal's profile (listed at the bottom of the profile page).
The quality of Scopus indexed journals can also be assessed on the Scimago Jaurnal & Country Rank (SJR) website. However, in this case, it is important to note that at the Scimago Jaurnal & Country Rank journals are ranked and assigned to quartiles according to their Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator values, while in Scopus DB journals are rated by their CiteScore values. Therefore, in some cases, the quartiles of the same journal in Scopus DB and in Scimago Jaurnal & Country Rank websites may not coincide.
- Editorial criteria (with the most important one being an implementation of peer review)
- The composition of the editorial board and the competences of its members
- Publisher credibility
- The scope and periodicity of the journal
- Applicable publishing models
- Relevance of the covered topics, etc.
However, nowadays the assessment of journal quality is mainly based on citations accrued by the publications published in it. For convenience, citation data of all journal’s publications are expressed as journal citation indicators.
The main bibliographic databases (WoS and Scopus) provide various journal citation indicators, but the main and the most widely used for evaluation purposes are: WoS – Journal Impact Factor (JIF); Scopus – CiteScore, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) and Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) indicators.
More about the main journal citation indicators provided by WoS and Scopus – their calculation principles, differences and limitations – provided here >>>
When assessing the quality of individual journals, it is important to pay attention to the year in which the indicators were calculated. This is especially important when citation and/or position indicators are used to evaluate individual publications, as only the values of the indicators corresponding to the year of publication should be used for this purpose.
Aiming to search only for journals that meet specific quality criteria, journal search in the databases can be restricted by specifying the desired journal quality criteria. For this purpose, the ranking of journals in research categories expressed in quartiles (Q) is the most commonly used quality criterion.
In the main bibliographic databases (WoS and Scopus), journals are divided into category quartiles according to the values of the main citation indicators used in that database (in WoS – by JIF, in Scopus – by CiteScore).
By restricting the journal search by quartiles, the results will include those journals that fall into the selected quartiles in at least one of the research categories they represent. For example, if you search for Q1 journals, the results will return all journals that fall into the Q1 quartile in at least one category, but in other categories that the journal may be assigned to, it may occupy lower quartiles. Therefore, if it is necessary to select the highest quality journals in a specific field of science, it is recommended to select the research fields/categories of interest in the journal search criteria first.
The most convenient way to search WoS indexed journals occupying specific category quartiles, is to use an additional filter in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) tool:
In Scopus database the search for journals belonging to specific quartiles can also be performed:
In Scopus database does not provide direct quartile (Q) values for each source – they must be determined by the journal’s position (rank) in represented research category expressed in percentiles: in order for the journal to be included the in Q1 or Q2, its ranking value in percentiles must be at least 50.
Journal ranks in percentiles at the Scopus Source page source list table are provided only for the category in which the journal occupies the highest position (Highest percentile) compared to the ranks in other journal represented categories. Journal's ranking values in all research categories it is assigned to are provided in the journal's profile (listed at the bottom of the profile page).
The quality of Scopus indexed journals can also be assessed on the Scimago Jaurnal & Country Rank (SJR) website. However, in this case, it is important to note that at the Scimago Jaurnal & Country Rank journals are ranked and assigned to quartiles according to their Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator values, while in Scopus DB journals are rated by their CiteScore values. Therefore, in some cases, the quartiles of the same journal in Scopus DB and in Scimago Jaurnal & Country Rank websites may not coincide.
Journal Suitability Assessment
After the initial journal search and / or selection of journals according to their quality and / or other criteria, it is necessary to make sure that the journal is suitable before submitting the manuscript for publishing in it:
- It is necessary to carefully read the Aims and Scope section of the journal’s homepage and assess their compatibility with the manuscript to be published.
- Take into account the editorial provisions applicable to accepted manuscripts (types of publications accepted, restrictions on manuscript extent (pages / characters), language quality requirements, applied layout and citation styles, etc.).
- Evaluate legal aspects (copyright, licenses, publishing ethics, etc.).
- Consider other criteria important to the author (course and speed of the peer review / publication process, available publishing models, related fees, etc.).
Journal Credibility Assessment
When searching for a journal on your own or considering publishing in the journal from which you received an invitation, you need to make sure that the journal are credible. With the rapid adoption of the Open Access publishing model, the number of so-called 'predatory' publishers or journals have also increased.
Predatory publishers/journals employs the Open Access publishing model to profit from authors by enticing them with a fast publishing process and low APCs, but without any real benefit to scientific communication: often the article ends up not being published at all, and the manuscript becomes unsuitable for re-publication in reliable journals. In this case, the authors not only lose the opportunity to publish valuable data and suffer financial losses, but also damage their reputation.
Main characteristics of a predatory journal:
To choose the right journal for publishing, it is necessary not only evaluate journal’s suitability and citation impact, but also the credibility and international recognition of publisher and/or journal.
Predatory journals often indicate that they are indexed in various well-known databases, and have a value of citation indicator, which is actually a pseudo-indicator. This often confuses authors who want to publish in high-ranking journals possessing values of the main citation indicators. Examples of pseudo-indices: Advanced Science Index, General Impact Factor, Global Impact Factor, Journal Impact Factor, and Scientific Journal Impact Factor. Therefore, it is necessary to check whether the journal is indexed in international databases and/or has national recognition:
A list of predatory journals by U.S. librarian Jeffrey Beall
Publishers' advices and trainings on how to write and publish scientific articles:
Predatory publishers/journals employs the Open Access publishing model to profit from authors by enticing them with a fast publishing process and low APCs, but without any real benefit to scientific communication: often the article ends up not being published at all, and the manuscript becomes unsuitable for re-publication in reliable journals. In this case, the authors not only lose the opportunity to publish valuable data and suffer financial losses, but also damage their reputation.
Main characteristics of a predatory journal:
- website of the journal is created by hijacking the title, ISSN, indexing and/or other information of the real journal (information about the existing version of the predatory journal can sometimes be found on the website of the real journal);
- Urgent acceptance of the article for publishing;
- Unreasonably fast peer review process;
- Low article publishing fees (APC);
- The physical address of the publisher is not always provided, usually only electronic contacts of the publisher may be found;
- It is not possible to identify the editor-in-chief of the journal;
- Researchers from the same country and without their consent are often included in the editorial board;
- The website contains broken links.
To choose the right journal for publishing, it is necessary not only evaluate journal’s suitability and citation impact, but also the credibility and international recognition of publisher and/or journal.
Predatory journals often indicate that they are indexed in various well-known databases, and have a value of citation indicator, which is actually a pseudo-indicator. This often confuses authors who want to publish in high-ranking journals possessing values of the main citation indicators. Examples of pseudo-indices: Advanced Science Index, General Impact Factor, Global Impact Factor, Journal Impact Factor, and Scientific Journal Impact Factor. Therefore, it is necessary to check whether the journal is indexed in international databases and/or has national recognition:
- Master Journal List (Clarivate Analytics)
- Journals Citation Reports (JCR)
- SCImago Journal & Country Rank
- The Association of Lithuanian Serials
A list of predatory journals by U.S. librarian Jeffrey Beall
Publishers' advices and trainings on how to write and publish scientific articles:
- Wiley-Blackwell: Author Services
- Elsevier: How to publish in scholarly journals
- Springer: Information for article authors
- Taylor&Francis: Developing High Impact Content
-
- Page administrators:
- Jolanta Juršėnė
- Asta Katinaitė-Griežienė
- Orinta Sajetienė
- Indrė Ereminė