EAS 6920 Graduate Experience in EAS: Identifying Journals

Ready to share research results with the world but don't know which journal to publish to make the most impact in your field? In 2021 alone, Elsevier launched 105 new journals, Springer launched 34 new journals, Frontiers launched 27 new journals, and PLOS launched 5 new journals (including PLOS Climate). To evaluate a journal for its quality and importance in the field, there are a number of factors that you should consider.

Journal impact factor is an indicator that tells you the importance of a journal within a specific research field. There are different impact measuring metrics, including Journal Impact Factor (JIF), H-Index, Google Scholar Metrics, and Citescore, that are calculated differently. Use the impact measures as one of the information that facilitate the evaluation of journals. Read more about measuring research impact in Mann Library's Measuring Your Research Impact, and read more about h-index, read the Nature article (2005), the ArXiv preprint (2005), and this Wikipedia page.

See metrics for journal impact (and citation counts) from the following:

For newer journals, you might not find any impact indicator. In that case, ask yourself a few short questions to facilitate the journal evaluation process. Download or view a full list of questions here.

Think: Ask yourself, can you trust this journal with your research? Does the journal publish research you would read yourself?

Check: Is the organization or publisher of the journal identifiable? Can you contact them easily?

For journals with publication fees (color charges, Open Access) - are the fees clearly listed on the publisher's website? Reputable publishers should list their fees clearly and publicly.

Do you know the names or reputations of any of the editorial board members?

Are the articles indexed in services you use within your subject area? (e.g., Scopus, GeoRef, and IEEE Xplore)

Submit: If you can answer yes to these questions, then submit!

You can never be too careful when it comes to publishing your intellectual property. Some publishers and journals are deceptive in their publishing practices (charge author fees, do not practice peer-review, and do not "count" in promotion review) so Think. Check. Submit. Always check with your advisor before submitting a manuscript for publication - they know the best journals.