MSK Library Guides: Support for Authors: Journal Selection for Manuscript Submission

What do most people want from a journal?

a) Visibility, Reach, and Impact:
For a lot of people from the target audience to read it, incorporate it into their research/practice, and cite it.

b) Quality, Rigor, and Professionalism:
For the journal editors and reviewers to follow a high standard as they steward this work to publication and beyond.

c) Beliefs, Values, and Preferences:
For the journal publisher to understand and/or share the author's (and their institution's/funder’s) core values/beliefs.

Q1: Where is this journal indexed?

Read the MSK Library Blog post: Checking to What Extent PubMed and MEDLINE Index a Journal

PubMed – NLM Journal Catalog
Use this tool to verify to what extent the content of a journal is indexed in PubMed and in MEDLINE.
Ulrichsweb
Use this tool to see what other databases may index a particular journal.
PubsHub
This tool includes information about indexing in PubMed/MEDLINE, among many other data elements related to the journal.

Q2: How does this journal compare to others?

Read the MSK Library Blog post: Tools for Ranking Journals by Impact

Journal Citation Reports (JCR)
JCR provides journal metrics and rankings based on Web of Science citation data.
Scopus Sources
Scopus Sources provides journal metrics and rankings based on Scopus database citation data.
Google Scholar Metrics
Google Scholar provides journal metrics and rankings based on Google Scholar “Cited By” data.
CWTS Journal Indicators
The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University has created a journal indicator called the source-normalized impact per paper (SNIP). This indicator is a significant improvement it Journal Citation Reports impact factors.
Eigenfactor analysis
The Eigenfactor score is intended to measure the importance to the scientific community by considering the origin of the incoming citations. Citations from more significant journals will result in a higher Eigenfactor score.
SCImago Journal and Country Rankings
Ranks journals according to the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator, another impact metric that is also included in Scopus.
Scopus Journal Analyzer
Select up to 10 sources to compare.

Q3: Where can I find other practical information? (eg. Is this journal... or Does this journal....)

Read the MSK Library Blog post: Making Sure Your Publications are Digitally Archived for Posterity

PubsHub

Covers a large number of biomedical journals and provides information including journal impact factors, circulation numbers, acceptance rates, publication turnaround times, and links to author guidelines.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

Listing of open access scholarly journals in all academic subjects, including health sciences and medicine.

Instructions to Authors in the Health Sciences

Provides links to websites outlining instructions to authors for over 6,000 journals in the health and life sciences.

Retraction Watch Hijacked Journals Checker

Retraction Watch, a website tracking retraction and scholarly communications news, offers this frequently updated list of hijacked journals. When a journal is highjacked, predatory publishers either take over a legitimate journal's domain name or create fake websites using the titles of real journals.

SPI-Hub (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)

SPI-Hub™ Disclaimer: SPI-Hub™ attempts to provide prospective authors with the available information on quality, rigor, and transparency of the journal publishing industry to aid with informed decision making for the purpose of identifying a publishing avenue.

MSK Resource - Data Policy Finder

The Data Policy Finder is a searchable database containing information and links for data, code, and materials policies. Search for data sharing and management policies by publisher or publication. Library staff review the policies and curate the database with links, direct quotes from the relevant sections of the policies, and notes to help you search, verify, and plan for your publication data requirements.