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Scholarly Metrics: Where Do I Publish?

This guide will help faculty trace the impact of their articles as well as the impact of journals by title.

Once you have an idea for a journal article or the results of your research, you will turn your attention to identifying journals which publish articles like the one you have in mind.  This guide provides some resources to help you identify sources for your scholarship. If the impact factor of a journal is important to you, refer to the information under the Journal Metrics tab for how to determine impact factor.  

Identifying Disreputable Journals

Don't trust everything you find on the web.  Check list for questioning journal content:

  • It's a new journal, especially if the publisher launched many at the same time

  • Title close to another well-established journal title

  • Developing-world publisher

  • Not indexed in standard indexes such as Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

  • Poorly designed web pages sometimes with sensational graphics, misspellings

  • No editors or the editors are not real or edit many, many journals

  • No clear indication of open access fees for authors to publish in the journal

More guidance for identifying troubling journals:

Using the Web of Science to Locate Open Access Journals

The Web of Science identifies the journals in your search results as open access in the limiters in the left frame.

Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunites

Cabell's Directories of Publishing Opportunities

Provides journal information for business (accounting, marketing, economics & finance, management), education, psychology, nursing, health administration, computer science & business information systems

EndNote Basic's "Manuscript Matcher"

Find the right journal for your manuscript

Manuscript Matcher analyzes millions of data points and citation connections from the Web of Science to identify meaningful relationships between these publications and your own citation data

  1. Log on to your EndNote Basic
  2. Click on the Match tab
  3. Enter keywords from the title and abstract
  4. Select a group of references to be used as samples

Tips for Maximizing Exposure of Your Research

  • Publish your article as open access
  • Signup for author profiles such as OrcID
  • Create accounts with scholarly networks such as LinkedIn, Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley, Slideshare, etc.
  • Write titles and abstracts carefully to include strong and descriptive keywords and tags

How to Write an Effective Journal Article

Demystifying the Journal Article

Breaks down the structure of a well-conceived scholarly piece and provides tips to help you get your research published.