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Scholarly Publishing

Determine Journal Quality

Journals can be qualitatively evaluated by their information and attributes.  With increasing concerns about deceptive or predatory journals, check a journal's website or its or "About" section to determine the following qualities, and if your manuscript is a good fit for the journal:

  • Aim and scope
  • Rates of acceptance
  • Time between submission to publication
  • Peer review process
  • Editors and editorial board
  • Where it is indexed
  • Bibliometrics (e.g., Journal Impact Factor, CiteScore)
  • Open Access (OA) availability
  • Author Processing Charges (for OA journals)

See this example from Review of Educational Research (RER):

Review of Educational Research Journal Information

Choose a Journal or Publisher


Bibliometrics

Scholars may also identify journals by reviewing its bibliometrics like its Journal Impact Factor, CiteScore, or others.  Bibliometrics provide a descriptive number for its citations and often provide ranks of the journals within fields.  See the following sources to identify journals, its rank and other bibliometrics.

Consult a journal directory to find a journal's publishing information, search by publishing criteria, and confirm its legitimacy. A directory can address the following:

  • A journal's review process
  • Its bibliometrics (journal impact factor, CiteScore, etc.)
  • Where it is indexed
  • A journal's audience, aim and scope
  • Its publication history

Consult a disciplinary index to review publications vetted by societies or other organizations. Many of these indexes also allow you to find research and publishing venues based on citations, references or funding.

Publishers and other organizations have developed new services that assist authors in targeting or narrowing down a group of appropriate journals for publication. These services use different search engines and  vary according to the size and scope of their source databases. 

Publisher Tools

The journal author pages provide information regarding its aims and scope and its submission process. See these links to some of the major scholarly publishers.

Open Access Publishing Agreements with FAU

Transformative agreements between commercial, scholarly publishers and academic entities are increasing.  These agreements can also be known as read and publish agreements, publish and read agreements, or similar terms. 

When an author is affiliated with an institution or system with a transformative agreement, the cost of publishing their work in a publisher's open access journals may be waived or reduced.

Current Agreements for FAU Affiliates.

FAU faculty, students, and staff can use any of the following open access agreements with the following publishers.  

For questions about FAU's transformative agreements, contact scholarlycomm@fau.edu.

Waive or Negotiate Open Access Fees

Most open access journals do not have APC or other fees, but if they do:

  • Request or inquire on a waiver from the publisher.  They may make exceptions for early-career researchers or those within certain categories.
  • Grant-funded research.  If your manuscript was funded by a grant, check your grant's rules to see if it allows funds to be used for publication fees.
  • Check with co-authors who are from other institutions.  Your co-author can may be able to use transformative agreements or funding that are available at their institution.
  • Inquire about a reviewer discount.  If you or a co-author is a reviewer for a publication, see if they have discounts or waivers for APCs.  Some publishers like IOPScience offer this.
  • See professional society membership benefits.  Some benefits may include waiving or providing reduced APCs.
  • Consult with your department.  Some may have funding or agreements with publishers to cover APCs.  
Last updated on Feb 29, 2024 9:16 AM