Beyond Journal Metrics
When choosing which journal to publish in there are several other important factors to consider beyond traditional research impact measures. These factors may include, but are not limited to:
Scholarly journals and peer review
Scholarly journals have an editorial board, are usually peer reviewed and will publish the primary results of research and summaries or reviews of previous research in their field of academic interest. Articles in popular journals and trade publications are generally not peer reviewed, have a more informal writing style, and have no, or only brief, bibliographies. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory indicates whether a journal is peer reviewed or not.
Journal indexing
Widely indexed journals are more likely to be found by other researchers. Established journals are usually indexed in multiple journal indexes or databases. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory lists the databases a journal is indexed in on the online availability tab.
Acceptance rate
A journal's acceptance rate is the number of articles accepted for publication in relation to the number of manuscripts submitted within the last year.
Editor and editorial board
The editor and members of the editorial board should be well-known and respected in their field. They should not all be associated with the same institution or geographic location.
Open access
An increasing number of open access academic journals are peer reviewed, well regarded, and have high impact. The Directory of Open Access Journals lists many of these titles. Open access journals generally have a wide global reach since there are no financial barriers for users of the content.
