00:00: Welcome to this unit. In this unit, we discuss where to publish your research once you’ve been able to draft your manuscript. The current slide lists several reputable publishers where you can submit your research to. So you can search through AJOL, Springer, Emerald, Sage, Wiley, PLoS One, Taylor & Francis, among others, to look for journals where you can publish your work.
00:36: It is always safe to look for journals that have been indexed in databases such as ScienceDirect, Web of Science and PubMed. When you choose from these indexed journals, you are more likely to avoid predatory journals. If you are unsure of where to submit your journal, you can always use journal finders.
01:00: And these journal finders – Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Scimago and Sage – offer such services. When you go on these platforms, you can input your title and your abstract. And then, based on the information you provide, the journals would provide you with, the databases will provide you with journals that are applicable to your work.
01:25: The results of this search would typically include the journal name, the impact factor and the discipline where that journal is mainly found. There are some parameters to consider when you are choosing a journal to publish your research in. The first parameter is the scope of the journal. When choosing a journal to submit your research to, it is important to consider the scope. The aim and the scope of the journal should align with your research topic.
01:59: If there is a mismatch, your paper may be rejected without being reviewed. For instance, if the journal focuses on migration and your research is about democracy, it may not be a good fit for that journal. So, do not submit your manuscript to a journal where the scope has nothing to do with your manuscript. The second criterion is the impact factor of the journal. The impact factor shows you the average number of citations from that journal.
02:34: The impact factor also tells you the reach, or how often people are using materials from that journal. Impact factors range from zero to infinity. As an early career researcher, you can decide that you want to go for either the high-impact journals – these are five plus – medium-impact journals, which are ranging from two to five, and then the low-impact journals, which are zero to one.
03:04: The impact factor reflects the reputation of the journal. And because it may be your first time that you are publishing, I would actually recommend that you start by trying your hands at the medium-impact factor journals. You will get recommendations on your manuscript, and you can use these comments to revise them, and then later on submit to the high-impact journals. The next important thing to consider is the peer review process.
03:32: Occasionally, the peer review period can be quite lengthy, some of them lasting more than a year. And because data is always linked with time, when it lasts for more than a year, the data can be outdated by the time the paper is published. So, when evaluating a journal publication, it’s crucial to consider the duration of the peer review process and how long it typically takes for them to review a paper.
04:01: You can find information about this on the journal’s website, where you will see the duration from submission to decision making. After submitting a manuscript, you can always use the tracking system to get updates on your paper. You can also use, or you can also send the editor an email to follow up. They will respond to you. If, after two months, they don’t respond to you and they don’t reply to your emails, you may probably want to pull down the paper from that journal and submit it to another journal.
04:37: The next criterion to look out for is the journal ethics. Make sure that you are submitting your manuscript to journals that require you to indicate your conflict of interest. For example, if you’re having funding, the journal must be able to make room for you to indicate your funding – and whether the funding had any effect on the content of your writing.
05:01: Some of the journals also have questions about informed consent. This is very important. And even how you involved community members in your research. So, look for all these ethical considerations from the journal when submitting to them. Then there’s also the ethics of co-authorship. It is always important to ensure that the journal acknowledges and accommodates author contributions. In academia, there is often pressure to publish quickly, and the saying “publish or die” reflects this urgency.
05:35: Falling behind in publication can be perceived as a lack of seriousness. This can lead to rushing, unfortunately. And I’ve witnessed situations where individuals have submitted papers without their supervisors’ review or even permission. It is important not to rush the process and to seek input from all co-authors and collaborators to ensure the quality of the work.
06:01: So, look for journals that allow you to indicate the contribution of all people, or all co-authors on a paper. Now, let’s discuss article processing charges, which are becoming increasingly important as some journals are now publishing open access to promote knowledge sharing. Open access publication is also required by funders like the European Union, UKRI and NHI.
06:32: Also, even NASAC – they all require that you publish open access. There are four main types of open access publications. The first is gold open access, which makes the publication fully accessible to everyone on the day of publication. The second type is the hybrid open access. These are subscription journals, and if you pay the APC, publication is made accessible to everyone.
07:01: If you do not pay the APC, then it’s only accessible to those who have subscribed to the journal. We also have the third type, which is a delayed open access journals. These journals impose an embargo period, for example, two years, during which the general public cannot access your publication without purchasing it. After the embargo period, the paper becomes available to everyone. The fourth type is the green open access.
07:33: When a paper is published, you are given the opportunity to deposit it in your library or in your repository. Most universities have a link for archiving in the library or with the library. This allows you to make your paper accessible through your library system, even if it’s not accessible initially after publication. There are so many issues that you can consider when it comes to the cost of APCs. APCs can range between $100 to as high as $3,000, and for most early career researchers, you don’t have this money.
08:08: So, when you are submitting to a journal and they are publishing open access, always request for a waiver during the submission process. You might be given a partial or a full waiver. Also, explore your university’s library. The libraries have partnerships with publishing houses, and if you publish with journals that your library has a partnership with, you may not have to pay any APC.
08:38: Look for information about this on your library’s website. If you are also part of a research group, I would always recommend that during your proposal or during your budgeting, you should leave some money that can cover APC. These are proactive approaches that you can use to manage the costs that are associated with publishing.