Current issue of PGR Tips

Issue 39/ February 2010

PGR Tips on where to publish journal articles

Publications are key if you want to pursue a research career. Supervisors will have experience in choosing where to publish journal articles so take the chance to learn from them and seek their advice. There are also excellent sources on writing papers online such as Hengl and Gould’s paper and the Vitae research staff website. An earlier PGR Tips was devoted to dealing with the peer review process, which is good to bear in mind.

What comes first, the article or the choice of journal?

Whether you should choose a journal for your article or write an article for a specific journal is a matter of debate. But the choice of journal will influence the length and style of the paper. Even if you write a general article (or rewrite one if it is rejected from the journal that was your first choice…) you will need to tailor it to the journal you submit to.

General considerations in the choice of journal

Take care to select a journal that publishes articles that have a similar or complementary methodological approach to yours; qualitative work will not necessarily sit well in quantitative data-heavy publications, for example. Be aware of ‘special issue’ journal editions, as these may dovetail with your research more closely than a general issue.

Choose a high impact journal?

High profile (and high impact) journals will tend to require a lot of results but have tight word limits, asking for a condensed writing style. These journals also receive a higher volume of articles submitted and thus reject more. It may be worth submitting research to a high impact journal first and resubmit somewhere else if it gets rejected.

When you have chosen a journal

Stick like glue to the author guidelines set down by journal editors, including style, referencing, word limits, and modes of submission. Consider approaching journal editors to test their interest in the article you intend to write before submission.

Can I submit to multiple journals at once?

Don’t under any circumstances send the same article to two different journals at once. Wait until one rejects it before sending it to the other. If editors find out your article is under consideration by another journal, they will reject it out of hand.

Alternatives

Conference presentations can be a useful forum for testing academic interest in your theory or argument, and seeking feedback. Consider any opportunities to do book reviews and conference proceedings – these give the useful experience of going through the publication process and raise your research profile.