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Academic Publishing: How It Works and Where You Fit

An introduction to the industry of academic publishing, how it came to be, and how it works now.

How to Decide Where to Submit Your Work

Questions to guide your thinking as you figure out the next step.

Note: log into Okta if prompted.

Consider:

  • Journal content
    • What journals are there in my field?
    • What journals publish research similar to mine? What journals publish the work of people I admire?
  • Journal prominence
    • Which journals...
      ...provide rigorous peer review?
      ...have low acceptance rates?
  • Open access and publisher policies
    • Can I publish my article open access?
    • How can I find journals that publish open access articles?
  • Journal credibility
    • How can I determine if a publisher can be trusted?
 
IMAGES
Icons from Noun Project; open access lock is in the public domain.

JOURNAL CONTENT

What journals are there in my field?

What journals publish research similar to mine?

What journals publish the work of people I admire?

 
CITATION INDEXES
Search for your subject to see what's been published or look up an author by name
MANUSCRIPT MATCHERS
Algorithmic checkers that look through journals to find text similar to the text you supply

JOURNAL PROMINENCE

Which journals...

...provide rigorous peer review?

...have low acceptance rates?

OPEN ACCESS TO YOUR WORKOpen access - Wikipedia

Can I publish my article open access?

If you want to expand access to your work, the first step is to determine if your publisher will allow it, and/or if your funder requires it.

 
What does the publisher allow authors to do with their work?
What does the funder require?
How well do they work together?

How can I find journals that publish open access articles?

Journals that publish entirely open access are known as Gold OA, and those that publish both subscription and open are known as Hybrid. In some cases, you will be charged an author processing charge to publish your article OA, but that is not universal, so check for that when considering where to publish.