A presentation on criteria to review when selecting a journal for publishing a biomedical research manuscript

1. Selecting a Journal:
Potential Criteria to
Review
Updated by EJB
12/2020

2. After finding 3 to 4 journal
titles, use the following
criteria to make a decision
to target a publication…

3. Getting Started…
 Most of the evaluation criteria to review can be found in the
journal's "author guidelines" or "instructions for authors" and using
UlrichsWeb/Ulrich's Periodical Directory.
 The information provided in this slideshow contains simplified
explanations of these concepts in publishing process. Should you
have any questions about any of these criteria of evaluation, please
contact your Liaison Librarian.

4. Scope of the Publication
 The scope is the broad focus of the publication
 It might also be called the “Editorial Purpose”
 Information on the journal scope can be found on the “About” page
or in the ”Author Guidelines” information

5. An example of a journal’s scope
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health

6. Editorial Boards
 Review who is part of the the governing body of the journal.
 Are they known scholars in that discipline or focus of practice?
 Journals should publicly post information about the role and
expertise of the group guiding the scope of the journal.
 Example of an editorial board webpage: Pediatric Emergency Care

7. Peer Review
 Meant to be a quality check of the
manuscript if it meets current
medical practice and standards
 An editor of a journal will find peers
knowledgeable of your topic to
review your manuscript and provide
feedback on areas of improvement.
 While it can be challenging to
respond to criticism, know that most
reviewers are trying to make the
manuscript better.

8. Time until Publication
 An estimate provided by the
journal of the time it takes to
process the
 Editorial Review
 Peer Review
 Manuscript Editing
 Formatting for Publication
 Generally, the process can take
from 6 to 18 months

9. Indexing
 Double check that your targeted journal is indexed in databases
you and your peers search
 PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase are databases frequently used by the
medical field
 Review ”Abstracting & Indexing” information using UlrichsWeb via
the UIC Library Databases list

10. Indexing
Information in
UlrichsWeb
Database
Vascular and
Endovascular Surgery

11. Subscription-based or Open Access?
 Essentially, choosing between the traditional
vs. open access publishing models comes
down to access to the articles
 Subscription-based publishing requires readers
or libraries to pay a subscription fee for access
 Open access is available to readers and libraries
at no fee
 As this is a very complex, and often
controversial area of the publication process,
please review the area of the guide on
Scholarly Publication Models and Your Rights
as an Author and contact your Liaison
Librarian with any questions
Open Access Logo

12. Author’s Rights
 Maintaining rights to your own work
 There are publishers who will try to transfer the copyright of your work using a
“Copyright Transfer Agreement,” limiting how you can distribute, reuse, or build-
upon your research
 Do not automatically sign this agreement and negotiate the retention of your rights
 Add the US SPARC Author Addendum to select the rights you retain
 Review more information on Authors’ Rights on the Publishing, Scholarly
Communication, and Open Access guide

13. Cost to Publish
 Some journals, particularly in Open
Access publications, will assess a
publication fee. Publication fees can
range from $500 to $4500 depending
on the publication
 Make sure this fee is something you are
willing to pay or your institution is willing
to cover prior to the submission of your
article
 One funding opportunity to cover a
portion of a publication fee is the
ROAAP fund administered by the UIC
Library

14. Other Factors to Consider…
 Does the journal offer the option of publishing supplementary materials?
 Does the journal require or encourage the preregistration of a study/analysis
plan or protocol?
 Does the journal require that the study data be placed in an open
repository?
 What ethical commitments has the journal made to biomedical and
publication community?

15. We hope this information was helpful to
your evaluation of potential journal
publications. Please contact the Liaison
Librarians with any questions you may
have.