Identifying a potential academic journal is indeed a challenging task. Selecting a journal requires lot of research process. Some journals may be technologically outdated while some journals may fail to impress quality writing. However, in order to find a successful journal, all you need to follow is to prepare a checklist for selecting the best journal for publication. These checklists will help you understand the state of each journal and it gives you clarity in selecting the best journal for your publication.
Checklist for Choosing Journal
- Choose your Readers
This is the first and foremost check that one has to do before going on with the selection for journal. There are really a huge number of journals worldwide. In order to select the best one, you must understand your target audience and your area of interest. Are you going to select a journal that lures a wide spread of audience or will it be a focus point for specific audience alone?
- Impact Factor
This is another important thing that you have to focus on. Finding journal impact factor is crucial for selecting the best of journals for your publications. Most websites have the information of the impact factors of the journals being published. This helps in deciding to go with the journal that has the highest impact factor.
- Open or Partial Access Journals
The next criteria are the choice of access provided for the journals. The most commonly used access mechanisms of the journals are open access and partial access journals. Open access journals are scholarly journals where any readers can access it in free of cost. Many go for the option of open access journals as there is a lot of chance for increased visibility of readers.
- Indexing
Google scholar indexing is another important aspect that one has to focus on. Google scholar ranks and lists the journals according to the relevance of your search. By this way, you can have exposure on the wide range of journals. This is especially useful for Indian Journal of Marketing.
- DOI
DOI is the short form of Digital Object Identifier. It is a unique alphanumeric string of series that is seen whenever an article is published electronically. The best way to find a journal is by searching for its DOI. This helps you in covering the largest possible audience.
- Advisory Board
The advisory board or commonly called as editorial board is one which comprise of a team of experts who can guide in reviewing the manuscripts submitted and provide suggestions accordingly. Since most journals operate under the guidance of the editorial board, it is wise to keep a checkpoint here. You can also find a journal that is listed in Copernicus.
If you are a marketing practitioner, and wish to search for journals related to International Journal of Marketing, then the above checklist will serve the purpose well.
Other Things to Consider
Some other criteria are also followed by many for selecting the best journal for publication. If you are looking for the best reach of journals, check whether it makes use of any social media platform, press or blog to publicize the work. This in turn will let you know how much the journals have reached the target. The subscription factors and circular statistics should also be taken into consideration. Another factor for selecting the journal is the scope of access – Is it going to be an international or region specific journals. Thus, finding a good journal is not going to be a difficult task if you are to follow the above checklists.
