What to Know
You're likely already aware of the most important journals in your field and for your specialty- you read and cite them all the time! These might be aspirational publication outlets or ones which you already have a relationship with.
When seeking to learn more about other journals and publishers for your research, you might choose to use a tool like Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities; Cabell has two sections: The Journalytics section provides information about how to publish in academic journals, including submission guidelines, the review process, and acceptance rates. The Predatory Reports section provides insight into journals that have been flagged as engaging in potentially predatory practices and reports on what the red flags in their practices are.
- Evaluating journals for potential publicationThis guide takes you through how to evaluate journals you are considering publishing in using Cabell's.
Cabell's is one tool that you can use in conjunction with your own analysis, the journal website, and conversations and insight from friends and colleagues.
Possible Action Item: Find a new potential publication outlet using Cabell's and/or the Directory of Open Access journals. What can you learn about them? What questions about this outlet remain?
Links & Resources
- Cabell's Journalytics and Predatory Reports This link opens in a new windowProvides information about how to publish in academic journals, including submission guidelines, review process and acceptance rates. Also includes "Predatory Reports" section, which lists journals and publishers that engage in potentially predatory behaviors.
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)Interested in finding Open Access outlets to publish your work? The DOAJ indexes Gold and Diamond Open Access journals that meet standards of review, output, and transparency.
- Think Check SubmitThink Check Submit provides toolkits and resources for assessing potential publication outlets. The "Resources" section provides links and information about other scholcomm topics.
- DORA: Declaration of Research AssessmentThrough a declaration and various initiatives, DORA recognizes the limitations of how research and scholarly outputs are traditionally assessed and seeks to create robust alternatives alongside responsible use of traditional assessment metrics.