Research Guides: Writing and Publishing A Scientific Article: Selecting the Right Journal

Finding Journals in Your Field

There are several strategies for identifying appropriate journals for your article submission.

1. Magazines for Libraries: Gelman Reference (2nd floor) PN 4832 .K2 25th ed.

3. Cabell's Directory of Publishing Oppportunities

5. Search for your topic in library databases. Use the facets to see which journals contain the most relevant articles.

6. Google Scholar Journal Metrics. Browse by category and subcategory.

7. Jane: Journal/Author Name Estimator: Enter the title and/or abstract of your paper and click on "Find Journals," Find Authors," or "Find Articles". Jane will compare your document to millions of documents in PubMed to find the best matching journals, authors, or articles.

Journals that Publish Student Research and Writing

Here is a comprehensive list of journals that publish student research and writing, maintained by the Council on Undergraduate Research. See below for direct links to select titles.

Girl Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Undergraduate Research
Girls Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Undergraduate Research publishes the work of undergraduate students on topics such as the socialization of female adolescents, gender expectations, identity, body image, the impact of media on girls, and girl empowerment. Submissions of an interdisciplinary nature as well as from across the disciplines--for example, from Sociology, History, Literature, Cultural Studies, Education, Art, and Feminist Theory (to name a few)-- are welcomed.
International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities
A peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to the publication of outstanding scholarship by undergraduates and their mentors from academic institutions of higher learning. The Journal accepts submissions of research articles, fiction, poetry, photography, videos, and other creative works from undergraduate students in all academic disciplines.
Journal of Student Research
Journal of Student Research is an electronic, academic, multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal.
Queen City Writers
We seek thought-provoking pieces from any disciplinary perspective that explore questions and problems related to writing, rhetoric, reading, literacy broadly conceived, popular culture and media, community discourses, and multimodal and digital composing. We expect that the work will be informed by critical conversations relevant to the topic–that is, composers should incorporate timely, pertinent research to support claims. In addition, we welcome projects that experiment with form, voice, style, and delivery.
Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal
The Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal (SURJ) is an annual peer-reviewed publication of research articles written primarily by Stanford undergraduates, but also by well-qualified students at other institutions, from all academic fields.
Inquiries
Inquiries, formerly Student Pulse, is an online open-access academic journal focused on publishing the work of university students from around the world in a wide range of academic disciplines.
Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community Based Research
The Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research adds to the increasing number of scholarly journals that invite undergraduates to pursue their own intellectual projects. We seek undergraduate contributions to the burgeoning academic conversation on service learning and community-based research. The Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research is open to undergraduate students in the U.S. and across the globe in all subject areas. All submissions will undergo a rigorous review process.
Young Scholars in Writing
Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric (YSW), a peer-reviewed journal for undergraduates, was founded in 2003 by Laurie Grobman and Candace Spigelman at Penn State Berks. YSW is the first international undergraduate research journal in rhetoric and writing studies and has garnered a national reputation.

Beware of Predatory Journals

Beware the predatory journal! Some unscrupulous groups take advantage of novice researchers by making it easy to submit papers for publication. However, these journals may not be using best practices such as peer review, or even strong editorial practices. They may not have a good reputation among researchers in the field, and they may charge high Article Processing Charges which aren't disclosed up front.

Beall's List of Predatory Journals and Publishers is no longer maintained. This link takes you to an archived version.

This blog post from Publons highlights some other ways to spot predatory journals.

Cabell's Predatory Reports
Cabell's includes a list of journals that meet some of the criteria for predatory behavior.

Open Access Defined

Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder.

-- Peter Suber

A Very Brief Introduction to Open Access