Q. How do I select a journal to submit my manuscript for publication?

Consider these options when selecting a journal for publication:

• Journals that you and your colleagues read
• Journals where you have already published
• Journals that published articles you cited in your manuscript
• Recommendations from colleagues

Use these resources to generate a list of potential journals

• Web of Science Manuscript Matcher (requires free account)

  • Notable features: limit search results to those included in current edition of Journal Citation Reports and those included in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

• Jane (Journal/Author Name Estimator)

  • Notable features: includes an article influence number for each journal listed and indicates if journal is indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and/or a high quality open access publication.

• Publisher-specific journal finders (NOTE: these resources will search for only those journals published by that specific publisher, so the recommendations are are not comprehensive and are biased toward that publisher.)
  • Elsevier
  • SpringerNature
  • Wiley (beta version)

Evaluate the journal

• Skim articles from several issues to determine scope and quality
• Review the journal’s author guidelines/instructions (may include journal’s mission and target audience)
• Check if the journal might be considered predatory.

Also consider

• Journal’s reputation
• Intended audience (broad [NEJM] vs. specialized [Annals of Surgical Oncology])
• Types of articles published by journal and word count limits
• Impact factor (indicates average number of times an article is cited within 2 years after publication)
• Proportion of accepted manuscripts (40% vs. 6%)
• Average time from submission to initial decision and acceptance to publication
• Publishing model (subscription vs. open access)
• Ease of use of manuscript submission system and working with editorial staff
• Terms of publishing agreement
  • Author transfers copyright to publisher and must request permission to reuse portions of article
  • Author transfers copyright to publisher and publisher automatically grants right to reuse without permission
  • Author retains copyright and right to reuse portions of paper without permission
• Submit a pre-submission inquiry to journal

Additional information

• Meet with a librarian
• Watch this webinar, "Choosing a Journal,"  presented by Stephanie Deming, Sr. Scientific Editor, MD Anderson (recording available)
• See our webpage, "Choosing a Journal"