Publish Your Research

You will already be familiar with some journals based on the journals that you routinely read, the journals in your bibliography, or other journals that you've found while searching PubMed or Google Scholar. You can also look for journals by searching bibliographic databases on your topic.

Here are some tools to expand your list of journals you might consider publishing in.

When selecting journals as potential publishing venues, the journal website itself contains valuable information, such as:

• Journal aims and scope, which will include a description of that journal's topics and intended audience.
• Types of articles published, for example original research, case studies, brief reports, or review articles.
• Type of peer review (number of reviewers, blind or double-blind, open)
• Length of time from article submission to publication.
• Copyright and open access options
• Costs such as open access article processing charges (APCs), page or image charges, or other fees
• Publisher requirements such as registration of clinical trials, registration of protocols, data deposit, limits to article length or number of figures

This information can be found on the journal web site in different locations depending on the publisher. Locations include Author Instructions, Guide for Authors, or Submit a Manuscript. Examining articles published in recent issues can also be illustrative.

For information about peer review policies for a particular journal, see  the Transpose database.

You may already have a sense of the prestige of the journals in your field, or you may want to consult with colleagues and advisors. Your department, program, or funding agency may require the use of specific metrics in evaluating journals, for example, that the journal be from a specific set of journals, or have a minimum Clarivate Journal Impact Factor. 

These databases can also help you identify additional journals to examine. 

Why pursue Open Access to Journal Articles and Open Scholarship overall (open data, code, images, graphics)?

To promote equity, inclusivity, transparency and trust by

• enabling informed decision-making among practitioners and in government,
• encouraging widespread understanding of research practices and results, and
• supporting research contributions from historically marginalized groups.

To satisfy funding agency requirements for public access to research

To support the 2023 UVM Faculty Senate Resolution on Open Access and Open Science

To increase numbers of citations.

Resources for publishing Open Access Journal Articles

Open Access publishers include established publishers such as Sage, Elsevier and Nature, as well as new publishers such as PLOS, JMIR, and eLife. Some of the best science in recent years has been published as open access journal articles.

However, OA does offer an opportunity for unscrupulous actors. Journals searching for authors or editorial board members may contact scholars suggesting that they contribute. Sometimes these requests come from legitimate publishers, in other cases the publisher is attempting to collect author fees without providing adequate journal services, such as peer review and editorial oversight. Here are some possible indicators of a deceptive or predatory publisher:

• poor grammar and spelling on the journal web site
• fewer than 10 articles published by the journal, ever, or no recent articles published
• quality of recent articles is poor: research aims, methods, analysis, summary of results, bibliography and overall language
• unknown editorial board
• unaffiliated with a known publisher, society, or university
• false claims about editorial board membership, authors, database inclusion, journal metrics, society affiliation
• journal scope is extremely broad or outside your area of expertise

One of these characteristics does not by itself indicate a deceptive publisher. Look at the big picture.

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