How To Choose The Right Journal And Tips To Publish Research Paper
Selecting the right journal is important for many reasons:
- Maximizes the number of citations post-publication.
- Validates and shares your work and expertise in the field.
- Helps with future collaboration.
- Advances your career.
- Helps gain funding.
But finding the right journal is easier said than done.
So, in this blog, we’ll talk about choosing the best research paper publication services for your work. We’ll also walk you through important tips when publishing your work.
So, let’s get started:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Publishing your journal may be the final step, but we strongly recommend choosing the journal even before you start researching. So, you can tailor your paper according to the journal-specific audience and format it according to its guidelines. It’ll save you time and effort while increasing the chances of acceptance.
Steps for Choosing the Right Journal
You’ve written an excellent research paper after brainstorming tons of ideas and a lot of trial and error. The next step is publishing the paper in a journal to gain visibility and recognition. But no matter how great your work is, it may not be of much use if it’s not published in the right, reputable journal.
So, in the process of successfully completing a research project, publishing is an important step after researching and writing. So, you must pay huge attention when choosing a journal.
Working through the following factors when asking how to publish a research paper. This guide may help you decide on the right journal for your research paper:
Impact factor: Impact factor is one of the most important criteria for assessing the reputation and quality of a journal. Journals with a higher impact factor are highly credible, which obviously brings massive visibility to your work. However, you must evaluate the suitability of your research for a high-impact journal. Otherwise, you may end up wasting your valuable time and efforts.
Scope: Your research topic should align with the journal’s scope.
Publication types: Find out –
- acceptable article types (originals, case reports, systematic reviews, etc.)
- Limit on word count and number of pages
- Number of references or illustrations
Read the guidelines for authors carefully to avoid rejection.
Publication mode: Print only, print plus online version (PDF) version, or only online version.
Copyright: The author or the journal publisher.
Publication charges: You may need to pay the submission fee, production charges, and fees for color figures or other charges. In addition, look for the following:
- Avoid journals with open access or high publication fees.
- Do they provide free reprints or online copies?
- Do authors have free access to published articles?
- Are the following services free or included in the publication charges: editing, news release, marketing, post-publication commenting, and metrics tracking?
Time from acceptance to publication: Choose journals with a fast response time and a shorter time between acceptance and publication. The normal time taken to publish the paper is 9-12 months, while the time limit for rejection is up to 6 weeks.
Rejection rates: Good journals have an acceptable rate of 10-20%. On the other hand, poor journals and predatory journals publish almost everything.
Readership: Check the “Most Cited” and “Most Downloaded” lists from the journal. If your paper’s scope is similar to that of the articles in these two lists, this indicates your work will have a broader readership.
Indexing: The journal should be indexed in online databases used by your target audience to search for articles.
Editor’s preferences: Look at editorials, special issues, and review articles published within the last two years. This shows the editor’s interest and preferences. If your manuscript aligns with these preferences, the editor may consider your work as important.
Peer-review: Peer-reviewed journals are considered more credible and reputable. The authenticity of reviewers is also important. Different types of peer review include:
- Closed: Single- or double-blind
- Open: Reviewer reports are public
- Collaborative: Reviewers may discuss with other reviewers, editors, and/or authors.
- Transparent: Reviews are published with or without reviewers’ names.
Considering the above-listed criteria, in addition to several other factors, it can be overwhelming to choose the right journal. So, you can work with journal paper publication services to make the process easier and smoother.
Tips for Publishing a Research Paper
Whether you are currently researching or writing, the following tips may help accelerate the publication speed and increase your chances of acceptance:
- Once prepared, request senior academics and fellow students to review it and seek feedback before submission. Accordingly, you have to revise the paper and go through multiple drafts. This can be very helpful in improving your research paper.
- Start writing your paper as early as possible, even before you’ve started with experiments.
- Write clearly so that editors and reviewers can easily understand the content. Frustration caused by a poorly written manuscript increases the chances of rejection.
- Strictly follow the journal’s guidelines for everything, from the cover letter and main text to tables and supplementary information. Any deviation may result in the risk of rejection and/or unnecessary delays.
- Pay attention to the references and acknowledgement section. You don’t need to give credit to all sources. Instead, cite the main scientific publications and use minimal self-citations.
- Once you have submitted your paper to the journal and you’ve not received a response within a week or two, you must check with the editor about the status.
- Write a good cover letter stating why you believe your work is the right fit for the journal. Include additional relevant background information while avoiding including the abstract in the cover letter.
- Stay polite and professional when interacting with editors, reviewers, copy editors, and others. Don’t become a prima donna before your career has just started.
Conclusion
We hope this guide helps you choose the right journal and provides valuable tips for publish research paper. We understand the process can be tricky and overwhelming from start to end. So, you can hire professional journal publishing services who can manage everything on your behalf and provide comprehensive support. In the end, you’ll be able to increase the chances of your research paper’s acceptance in the desired journal.
