finding and choosing an appropriate journal
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Finding and choosing an appropriate journal
• Where to look for the journal:– Personal experience– Colleagues’ experience– Library– Citations– Online
Appropriate Journal
General versus Specialty
International versus Local
High versus Low impact
LOOK AT THE JOURNAL
LOOK AT THE AUDIENCE
What type of paper you wrote ?
research report (“original article”)
review paper
special article
editorial
case report
letter to the editor
Brief report
Be realistic– This is your first manuscript or you have already
a real track of publications on the topic ?– Are the co-authors or the Institution were you are
based recognized in the field ?– Are you an Iranian author submitting to a
national, a European or an American journal ?– Reviews are mostly only by invitation but
national journals can be quite open– Determine the odds that a particular journal will
appreciate the newness and importance of your manuscript in the context of the existing medical literature
Know your journal targets?
a) Impact factor and prestige b) Normal content of one of the journal issues
a) Which kind of manuscripts are published ?b) What are the preferred formats ?
c) Style and recent trends in the journald) Who is the editor-in-chief ? Can you contact
him ?e) Who are the members of the editorial-board?
They are very aware of the journal’s publication policy…you can try to contact some of them with questions
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
J Natl Cancer Institute 10.730 12.945 14.159 14.240 14.500
J of Clinical Oncology 8.228 7.963 8.773 8.530 9.868
Cancer Research 8.370 8.614 8.460 8.302 8.318
Clinical Cancer Research 2.941 3.442 4.643 5.076 5.991
Oncogene 6.192 6.517 6.490 6.737 5.979
Gene Chromosome Cancer 3.804 4.902 4.534 4.416 4.199
Int Jrnl Cancer 3.283 3.545 3.918 4.233 4.056
Cancer 3.660 3.362 3.611 3.909 3.941
Annals of Oncology 2.867 3.195 3.249 3.153 3.114
Impact Factor: Oncology
Journal Impact factors
• The ISI Impact Factor indicates how often articles in a certain journal are cited within the two years following the publication date. For example, the ISI Impact Factor for Ecology in 1996 is calculated as the sum of all 1996 citations of articles published in Ecology in 1994 and 1995 divided by the total sum of all articles published in Ecology in those two years.
Impact factors (2)
• Will anyone ever cite this paper? Or will it be a dead weight on our impact factor, no matter how “worthy”?
• Heavily cited: reviews; highly original papers; papers that receive high press attention
Impact Factor: Oncology
Above 10
[ 5 – 10 ]
[ 3 – 5 ]
Below 3
Impact factor differences between subject areas
Normal content of the journal ?
• Is the topic within the scope of the journal?• Is the topic represented in the journal
frequently, or only rarely?• Would the journal offer the best match of
audience and topic?• What formats are acceptable to the journal?
Normal Content of the journal ?
Style and recent trends
• Do look at a recent issue of the journal you plan to submit to
• Do read the Instruction to authors of the journal (links to 3500 journals’ Instructions at www.mco.edu/lib/instr/libinsta.html)• Be aware of word/figure/table limits• Use the appropriate reference and citation styles• Help Editors and Referees (and yourself) –
Number all pages
– Who is the editor-in-chief ?– If you can contact him, query the editor
• be specific• sell your product
– Editorial board members?
Editor in chief and editorial board
For each manuscript
• Apply the Editor’s questions:– “So what?”– “Who cares?”
– He may belong to a specific editorial board– He senses new opportunities
• Launching of a new journal• Accurate format to sell your product
– Provides a more realistic point of view
Ask your mentor
What is your own agenda when publishing ?
• Prestige journal vs. rapid publication• National visibility vs international fame• Issues of timeliness and in-depth track do
matter
Timeliness and friendliness of the submission process
• Hot topic?• the average reviewing time (assistant of the
editors)• Is there an online submission process?• Can you track your manuscript status online
Online submission
It’s not just the impact factor…
PAUSE & PONDER
• select journal carefully
• consider audience• consider chances of
success• review Instructions
for Authors
Remember: Every paper will get published somewhere!
“There seems to be no study too fragmented, no hypothesis too trivial, no literature citation too biased or egotistical, no design too warped, no methodology too bungled, no presentation of results too inaccurate, too obscure, and too contradictory, no analysis too self-serving, no argument too circular, no conclusions too trifling or too unjustified, and no grammar and syntax too offensive for a paper to end up in print.”
Rennie (JAMA, 1986)
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