Where should you publish your paper?
28/09/2017

That’s not an easy question as there are lots of factors to take into consideration when choosing where to publish, but let’s take a look at a few aspects.
Firstly, you probably need or want to publish open access (OA) to maximise the visibility of your work (RCUK, H2020, and REF policies require this). Options vary from publisher to publisher and even between journals from the same publisher. Journals are generally of three types:
- Conventional, subscription-based journals;
- Fully open access journals, where you usually have to pay a publication fee known as an Article Processing Charge (APC);
- Hybrid journals, which have a mix of OA articles and articles only accessible to subscribers. To publish an article OA, you again usually have to pay an APC.
You’ll need to look at the OA options available and make sure they’re compliant with your funder requirements. You can use the SHERPA/FACT tool to check – select a journal and your funder and it will tell you about any compliance issues; you can do the same for the REF with the SHERPA/REF tool. Or, just email openaccess@cranfield.ac.uk and Library staff will be happy to advise you.
Secondly, you’ll want to check the impact or quality of the journals you’re considering. You can use Journal Citation Reports (JCR) to check the quality and impact factor of specific journals. However, it is important to use impact factors with caution, bearing in mind the caveats highlighted by the JCR provider. Cranfield also has two journal lists you can use for reference which are linked to from our Making Your Research Open Access (intranet) site.
Finally, some authors may feel pressured or tempted to explore other routes to OA, such as using vanity, self- or on-demand publishing. Some of these businesses are legitimate but some aren’t, so if you are approached directly by a publisher, you may find our guidelines on solicitations to publish (internal pdf) helpful.
Photo CC-BY-NC-SA from Tom Magliery on Flickr
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Want to improve your reading skills?
Are you starting to wade through the mountains of reading that you have discovered for your project? You've searched the library databases, journals and printed collection and now have a reading list that stretches to ...
What a Mango Scientist Learned from Anthropy 23
Anthropy 23 and the ‘Emerging Leader’ title As a researcher, a setting like Anthropy was quite foreign to me. The conferences I have attended before were scientific/academic gatherings, where people presented data they had gathered ...
The beginning of my Cranfield journey as a Water student.
Joining Cranfield University is a dream come true! I made this decision based on what I had learnt from some of my colleagues from my home country who had studied here, and alumni of ...
Webinars and workshops running in December
Our Library Services staff run a wide range of webinars and in-person workshops to support your work and boost your success at Cranfield. They cover topics including using our databases effectively, referencing, study skills, the ...
World Soil Day 2023, 5 December – showcasing the Cranfield University Soilscapes Viewer tool
UN World Soil Day on 5 December is a vital reminder of the importance of soil in all our lives. Supporting growth of the food we eat; cleaning the water we drink; supporting the foundations ...
Collect your reservations 24/7 from the SOM Library locker
SOM Library customers, did you know that you can reserve items on Library Search and then pick them up at any time of the day or night from our SOM Library locker using your University ...