Your manuscript’s reference list is an immediate source of potential target journals. Another way to identify potential journals for publication is to perform keyword searches in literature databases. Journal selectors are free resources that you can use to identify suitable candidate journals and get additional information about them. These search tools use algorithms to match the title, abstract, and keywords of your manuscript to potential journals you can publish in. You should keep in mind that journal selectors are database-specific or publisher-specific tools which means that the journals that are presented to you as possible candidates are restricted to those that are indexed in their databases. When you find one or several potential journals, you have to evaluate them to determine which ones match your research and publication needs.
JournalGuide
This is a free resource that provides suggestions for journals in which to publish and covers journals in all kinds of disciplines. You can search for journals using the manuscript title and/or abstract. The resource will provide quick information about the following aspects;
- Journal name and score (accuracy of the match between your search and journal)
- Article matches
- Publisher
- Impact- uses Scopus’ SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper)
- Publication speed
- Open access
- Database indexing
- You can compare up to 3 journals
Edanz Journal Selector
The journal selector matches your abstract or keywords against over 28,000 journals from publishers such as Elsevier, John Wiley & Sons, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Nature Publishing Group, and more. You can limit the search to only journals indexed in the Web of Science, those with open access options, or by publication frequency. When you click on a journal title you will get information on:
- Publisher
- Article processing fees (for open access & paid open access journals)
- Embargo time
- SCImago Journal Rank (SJR)- Scopus’ equivalent to the Web of Science’s Impact Factor
- Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP)
- h-index
- Database indexing (SCI, SCIE, SSCI, AHCI, or ESCI)
Journal/Author Name Estimator (JANE)
The journal selector is used to search for matching journals that are indexed in MEDLINE. You can perform the search with the manuscript title and/or abstract. You can also limit your search (Extra options) to language, article types (e.g. case reports, clinical trials, meta-analyses, reviews, etc.), and open access journals. The selector will provide information on;
- Confidence level (match between your search and the journal)
- Open access
- Article influence- indicated how often articles are cited within a five-year period
- Marching articles
- Indexing in PubMed Central
Scholarly Publishing Information Hub (SPI-Hub)
SPI-Hub is a useful resource for identifying journals within the PubMed database in which to publish by matching your research with keywords and/or the manuscript topic. The resource provides information about;
- Journal aims & scope
- Publisher
- Publication frequency
- Links to journal and author guidelines
- You can compare up to 5 journals
Elsevier Journal Finder
The journal selector is used to search journals within Elsevier publisher (over 2500 journals) that match your manuscript using the title and abstract. You can limit the search to specific subjects and/or journals that offer open access options. You will get information on;
- Match percentage
- Impact factor- if the journal is indexed in the Web of Science
- Acceptance rate
- Editorial time (time from submission to peer review)
- Production speed (time from acceptance to online publication on the journal website)
- Open access (yes, optional, no). – [a dash] – means that no open access options are available for the journal
- Open access fee
- Embargo time
IEEE Publication Recommender
This selector is maintained by IEEE and is used to find a suitable IEEE periodical or an IEEE conference to submit a manuscript. You can choose to search for only periodicals or only conferences, or both (default setting). You may use keywords, the title, abstract, or upload the full article to perform the search. It provides information such as;
- Impact factor
- Submission to publication time
- Open access availability
- Issues per year
- Links to the website and publisher
- Aims and scope
Springer Journal Suggester
The journal selector is used to search all Springer and BMC journals (over 2500 journals) to find the most suitable journal for your manuscript based on title and abstract. You can also limit to a general subject, Impact Factor, acceptance rate, time to first decision, and open access options. It provides quick information about;
- Impact factor
- Open access, subscription-based, or hybrid open access
- Acceptance rate
- Time to first decision (time from submission to peer review)
Wiley Journal Finder
The journal finder is used to search Wiley Journals (over 1600 journals) that may be relevant to your research based on your manuscript title and abstract. The resource provides quick information about;
- Impact factor
- Open access
- Acceptance rate
- Indexing