LibGuides at Priddy Library: Publication Strategies: Where to Publish

Choosing a Target Journal

There are a number of factors to consider when submitting your manuscript for publication. Choosing a journal that matches your research output increases the chances that your manuscript will be accepted.

Identify potential target journals before you start writing your manuscript. Visit the journals' websites, read the journals' guidelines for authors and consider the following criteria:

Audience
Scope
Reputation
Length restrictions
Time to publication

For a thorough analysis of factors to consider when selecting a journal, see Becker Medical Library's guide.

Tools for Selecting a Journal

JournalGuide
JournalGuide is a free tool that helps researchers to evaluate scholarly journals. In addition to searching by journal name, category or publisher, authors can use the title and abstract of a paper to discover journals that have already published articles on similar topics.
Jane
Jane (Journal/Author Name Estimator) is designed to help authors identify journals to which to submit. Simply enter your title and/or abstract and Jane will find the best matching journals.

Journal Citation Reports - UMB
Use Journal Citation Reports to evaluate and compare journals using citation data. Search for a specific journal by title or search for a group of journals by subject. Journal Citation Reports can show you the most frequently cited, highest impact and largest journals in a field.

edanz
The Edanz Journal Selector can guide you through the publication process. Using your abstract, the Journal Selector identifies a list of journals that publish in related areas.
Elsevier Journal Finder
The Elsevier Journal Finder helps identify journals suitable for submission. Enter your title, abstract and field(s) of research to find Elsevier journals that match your article's scope.
NAHRS Selected Nursing Journals List
Created by the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section (NAHRS) of the Medical Library Assocation. This list provides detailed information on nursing journals, including links to author guidelines, where they are indexed and whether their open source status.

Ulrichsweb - UMB
Easy to use database that provides detailed information on more than 300,000 periodicals, including when the journal started and which databases index the journal.