The world of academic publishing is full of informative, well-respected publications that serve as valuable resources for researchers as well as predatory, vanity publications that cater to a population eager to see their work in print. Journal evaluation is important so as to not fall victim to predatory journals as well as ensure you are seeking to publish in the correct journal for your subject and article type. There are many criteria to consider when evaluating a journal as well as tools to help both librarians and researchers determine the best fit for publication submission. Most journals have an informational webpage, usually on the publisher's website, that can be found through a web search or using the journal listing tools below. Use these pages to help you evaluate if a publication is right for your submission.
Items to consider when evaluating a journal
-Web Search: Is the journal within the first few pages of your web search results? If it is Open Access, is it in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), an organization that allows respectable open access publishers to register their journals? Who owns the journal's website domain? Are there any universities or libraries affiliated with the journal?
-Journal Name: Check to see if the journal appears on a white list of trustworthy journals. Use tools such as the Web of Science Master List, Directory of Open Access Journals, the National Library of Medicine Catalog and JournalGuide to help verify the journal's validity.
-Editorial Board: Check the journal's editorial board. Are the members considered experts in their fields? Are their full names and credentials published?
-Peer Review: Does the journal state whether it is peer-reviewed or not? Does it indicate a peer-review policy or procedure? If the peer-review timeline is suspiciously short (a couple of weeks rather than two to three months), that can be a red flag.
-Impact Factor: Does the journal have an impact factor? Is it presented without any qualifying explanations?
-Indexing and Archives: Is the journal indexed in more than one database (PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychInfo)? Does the journal's website have an archive of past issues with links to full-text? Does the journal publish from a variety of authors?
-Publishing Fees: Does the journal have a clearly defined business model and publishing policy including submission guidelines, open access, copyright and licensing information, and preservation? Does the journal provide a list of Article Publication Charges and/or Open Access fees? Do the author instructions explain when and how fees will be collected and if fees will be refunded if an article is not accepted for publication?
In response to a growing concern about deceptive publishing, an international coalition of scholarly organizations joined together to create a tool for researchers to identify trusted journals and publishers. Think Check Submit helps researchers find the right journal or book for their work while providing checklists to guide them.
The Journal Checklist is available here and the Book and Chapter Checklist is available here.
From Elsevier, " The peer review system exists to validate academic work, helps to improve the quality of published research, and increases networking possibilities within research communities. Despite criticisms, peer review is still the only widely accepted method for research validation and has continued successfully with relatively minor changes for some 350 years." The purpose of peer review is for the independent review of your research by peers in your industry. It assesses the quality of the research before reaching publication. In theory, if an article has undergone peer-review, it has been scrutinized by other members of the same field and found suitable for publication.
Resources to understand the peer review process
-Elsevier's guide to peer review
Open Access is when articles are available online to everyone with few restrictions for dissemination. There are different levels of Open Access however the most frequently cited options are Green and Gold.
Gold: Articles and contents related to them can be accessed at no cost on the journal’s website. Gold Open Access articles are licensed under Creative Commons Licenses (CC), which means they can be freely distributed and shared so that other people can build their own work based on them. (from Elsevier)
Green: Authors can archive their own work on a website controlled by them, or their funder, or on an independent repository. The deposited version of the article may or may not be final. It might be the accepted manuscript by the journal or an almost final one, after peer review. In this case, it is called “post print.” In this model, some journals demand an embargo period – which may vary from six to twelve months in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and more than one year in humanities, arts and social sciences – before the actual self-archiving permission. (from Elsevier.)
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