Journal articles are some of the most veritably researched and meticulously put together academic documents. Their composition entails conforming to strict linguistic and formatting standards, ensuring factual integrity and proper citation, and exploration of targeted research efforts. And understandably so, for these articles contribute valuable content to the greater wealth of the subject matter they fall under. However, before such articles can enrich the knowledge bank of a field of study, they need to be published in reputable journals. This is where most scholars develop a feeling of dread and dismay. How to choose a journal for article publication is a question that many academics find tough to answer.

It is not uncommon to see scholars submit their articles to the wrong journals or overlook the requirements of a journal and face rejection. In other words, they resort to haphazardness, ruling out any possibility of an ordered approach to the journal selection endeavor.

This article aims to organize the randomness, as stated above, by listing five tips for picking a journal. Thus, readers looking to systemize their article submission efforts should implement them perforce.

4 Tips on how to choose a journal to submit articles

The following tips concern some of the core aspects of the journal selection process that scholars should be aware of:

1. Cataloging journals based on their relevance to the field of study

Choosing a journal should ideally begin with identifying and listing all the journals pertinent to the subject matter. A popular way of doing so is employing the services of online journal finders. A journal finder is a tool that locates relevant journals based on keywords - either the title or the abstract of the article.

Once scholars have enumerated some journals, they should juxtapose their articles with those published in the listed journals. Doing so will allow them to gauge the quality level of the picked journals and further constrict the selection process.

2. Determining the scope or aim of prospective journals

Every journal has some objectives that it seeks to fulfill by publishing articles in it. These objectives can comprise specific research fields, cross-discipline relevance of an article topic, degree of accessibility, readership, etc.

As per the academic jargon, these objectives carry the moniker “scope,” a word that signifies all that a journal stands for.

Ascertaining the scope of a journal allows scholars to match it with the purpose of their articles. This, further, enables them to deem the suitability of a journal for article submission more accurately.

3. Pinpointing a journal after assessing its ancillary factors

If implemented correctly, the first two tips will considerably reduce the number of journals at hand. To further reduce the count and bring the number of journals to one, scholars need to assess the following parameters:

• Whether the journal is indexed in major online databases.

• Whether the peer-review process is transparent and justifiable.

• Fees, if any, that a journal charges for publishing articles.

• Publication frequency of the journal - in case a scholar needs their article to get published early.

• Whether the journal targets a specific criterion of readers and critics.

• Editorial quality - grammatical inconsistencies, incongruent writing, etc.

• Impact of the journal in academia.

These metrics work toward delineating the credibility and ethical adherence of a journal. Hence, it becomes comparatively easier for scholars to pick a journal based on overt and evident factors.

4. Abiding by the guidelines as preferred by the journal

The previous tip culminates the process of selecting a journal for article publication. However, simply choosing a journal is not the end. Scholars also need to verify whether their articles stand on par with the standards posed by the journal.

Every journal offers a comprehensive set of submission guidelines that include certain criteria that an article should fulfill. Typically, these include

• Formatting guidelines

• Word count - for the entire document as well as for specific sections

• A cover letter

• Ethical approvals for research methods.

These guidelines are crucial for any journal as they enforce a cohesiveness mandatory to maintain a minimum publishing threshold. In case an article falls short of implementing these guidelines, rejection is imminent. Thus, scholars should make it a point to ascertain every guideline carefully and abide by it in totality.

How to choose a journal for article submission: An overview

Publishing articles in journals is a proven way to increase the career prospects of every scholar. It garners one recognition, helps them supplement their field of study with credible research, encourages future research, and introduces them to the journal publication process.

Thus, virtually every scholar must know how to choose a journal to submit their papers. However, citing the various uncertainties surrounding the publication process, one can get overwhelmed when picking the right journal. Thus, scholars should follow and implement the aforementioned four tips and maximize their journal publication efforts.

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This article provides basic information on how to choose a journal for article submission. To give you an opportunity to practice proofreading, we have left a few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors in the text. See if you can spot them! If you spot the errors correctly, you will be entitled to a 10% discount.