Authors wishing to publish their research aim to publish in journals with the highest ratings. Publishing in a prestigious journal not only looks good on your CV, but may also give you better career and funding opportunities. Researchers commonly use the journal impact factor (JIF) to assess overall journal quality. However, the JIF has its advantages and disadvantages. Here we describe other factors that you should consider while assessing a journal.
Your first thought is probably to select a journal that reports the best research in the field that will reach your target audience. A good quality journal would be the most read and talked about one. Therefore, you can assess journal quality by three main factors:
None of the criteria above should be used to evaluate the quality of a journalin isolation because they all have their advantages and disadvantages which we highlight below.
It makes sense to rank a journal by its average citation record since this indicates its popularity. It is:
However, its indication of journal quality is questionable because:
This is a high-quality control measure of research before publication in a journal. However, you should look at the reviewer selection criteria at to assess the caliber of the reviewer. Although reviewers are considered experts in their field, they have varied knowledge and experience. This often results in different opinions.
Journals that reach an international audience quickly, with available electronic copies, will be given preference. You want to publish your article as soon as possible. You also want it to reach your target audience.
In addition to the criteria mentioned above, there are other factors that one can use to judge the quality of a journal:
A standard set by the journal that ensures that all the information you need to assess the research in a paper is present.
This is based on the citation record as well as the prestige of the journal. It gives the perception of the journal by researchers.
The ability to discuss the merits and shortcomings of a paper adds value to the research community. Therefore, a journal that provides an online discussion platform could be given. This, of course, is only valuable if the research community makes contributions.
Some journals publish these rates on their websites. A high rejection rate implies that a journal is very particular about the quality of the research that they publish. However, the disadvantage of this rate is that the journal does not give reasons for rejections. Also, a high rejection rate could simply be a matter of limited publication space.
To get an overall journal rank, and decide which journal would be best for you, you can consider all the above factors. However, you need to remember that you cannot compare journals between fields since the criteria standards will vary.
Adapted from Enago.com.
Tags: communication • Olle Bergman • public speaking • publishing • Science Communication