SSuzanne Stapleton

University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries

Schulz

Deciding Where to Publish

(online version)

3/18/2020

Workshop Goals

• Understand criteria to evaluate publication quality

• Describe the peer-review process

• Define open access publishing

• Avoid predatory publishers

• Identify appropriate venues for your research

“…knowledge is acquired

cumulatively and collaboratively—

and the principal mode for sharing

this knowledge is the institution of

scholarly publishing.”

Eigenfactor.org/about

Trinity College Library, Photo S Stapleton

Growth in Publication Venues

Mabe, 2003

Active, refereed scholarly/academic journal

title growth since 1665 (log scale)

Journal Selection

Source: #jp-carousel-387 in Ethics Alarms.com

Evaluating Publishing Venues for Quality

1. Appropriate scope

2. Quality content

3. Publisher

4. Scholarly impact

5. Author’s rights

6. Professional ethics

Criteria

Appropriate Scope

What is the mission of the publication? Does your

research fit within the scope of this venue?

See the description about the journal or book

series.

Read recently published articles.

Who ensures quality of content?

Editorial Board Composition

The editorial board establishes and maintains

the quality of content published.

Who is on the editorial board? Does their

expertise complement the scope of the

publication?

Are diverse perspectives represented?

Who ensures quality of content?

Peer Review

What exactly is peer review? Flicker/AJ Cann, CC BY-SA

Publisher

Who owns the publication?

What are the revenue sources to

produce the publication?

What services does the publisher

provide?

Publisher Information

Resources

Scholarly Impact

Readership: Who reads this publication? Is this your

target audience?

Indexing: Do reputable subject databases include

content from this publication?

Access: Who can read current and archive issues? Is

the publication Open Access?

Citation metrics: Journal Impact Factor, altmetrics,

h-index, etc.

Scholarly Impact Resources:Indexing by Reputable Databases

Inclusion criteria by Elsevier’s Compendex

Inclusion criteria by DOAJ

Scholarly Impact Resources:Indexing by Reputable Databases

Inclusion criteria by Web of Science

Scholarly Impact Resources:Access

Who can read current content? Archival content?

Is the publication Open Access?

Open Access Publishing

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00009658/00001

“Open Access is the free, immediate, online

availability of research articles coupled with the

rights to use these articles fully” SPARC

https://sparcopen.org/open-access/

Baseggio, M., Newman, Y., Sollenberger, L. E., Fraisse, C., & Obreza, T. (2015). Planting rate

and depth effects on Tifton 85 bermudagrass establishment using rhizomes. Crop Science, 55(3),

1338-1345. doi:10.2135/cropsci2014.09.0605

Authors

Date of publication

Title

Journal Name

Volume (Issue number)

Pages

doi

Scholarly Impact Resources:Citation Metrics

Anatomy of a Journal Article Citation in APA 7th Citation Style

Scholarly Impact Resources:Citation Metrics Examples

Article level metrics

Journal level metrics

Author level metrics

Author’s Rights

What is the expected duration for the review process?

Transparency of all author-provided fees

Copyright and licensing: who owns the published

content? Is the author permitted to post pre-prints? Is

the publication licensed under Creative Commons?

Professional Ethics

How are alleged instances of research misconduct

handled?

Does the publication have a unique name and secure

website to avoid fraudulent mimicry?

Is the publisher a member of a scholarly publishing

ethics organization such as COPE (Committee on

Publishing Ethics)?

Do Your Due Diligence to Avoid

Predatory Publishers

Assess the journal’s

• Editorial Board Composition

• Peer Review Policy

• Transparent Fees

https://thinkchecksubmit.org/

Predatory Publishers:

The Problems with Lists

Predatory Publishing Lists

• Jeffrey Beall’s list today

• Cabell’s White List/Black List

• The Case of MDPI

• Seal of Approval (e.g. DOAJ)

• The Case of OMICS (Oct 2019 FTC

ruling)

Evaluating Publishing Venues for Quality

1. Appropriate scope

2. Quality content

3. Publisher

4. Scholarly impact

5. Author’s rights

6. Professional ethics

Criteria

Journal Selection

Personal Hierarchy of Preference

Top Tier

Second Tier

Third Tier

Stapleton, S., Minson, V., and Spears, L. 2017. Investigating the research

practices of agriculture scholars: Findings from the University of Florida. Journal

of Food and Agriculture Information, 18(3-4): 327-346.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10496505.2017.1335209

Journal Selection

Monitor Where Mentors Publish

Follow prominent authors in your

field to identify where the

scholarly conversation is

occurring.

Find Journals by Topic: Examples

UF Library Catalog

Web of Science Journal Citation ReportUlrich’s Global Serials Directory

Scimago Journal Ranking

Find Journals with New Tools

Ethics of Authorship

Image Source: Understanding research paper writing inside out

http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/stemrcr/

I hope you are now better able to….

• Understand criteria to evaluate publication quality

• Describe the peer-review process

• Define open access publishing

• Avoid predatory publishers

• Identify appropriate venues for your research

http://apps.uflib.ufl.edu/staffdir/SubjectSpecialist.aspx

Search for Journals

• Library catalog for Journal Title

• Ulrich’s Global Periodical Directory: http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com/

• ISSN Portal https://portal.issn.org/

• Web of Science InCites Journal Citation Reports

• Scimago www.scimagojr.com

Publishing Ethics

• Ethics of Authorship and Peer Review tabs in Responsible Conduct of Research LibGuide:

http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/stemrcr/

• Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing:

https://oaspa.org/principles-of-transparency-and-best-practice-in-scholarly-publishing/

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), https://publicationethics.org

• Think. Check. Submit. https://thinkchecksubmit.org/

Citation Analysis & Bibliometrics

• Research Metrics: Measuring the Influence and Impact of Research:

http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/c.php?g=147746&p=967317

• Clarivate Analytics Impact Factor: https://clarivate.com/essays/impact-factor/

• Creative Commons Licenses: https://creativecommons.org

Selected Relevant Resources

References Cited

Fruin, C. & Hines, A. 2017. Open Access Mythbusters. Retrieved from

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00009658/00001

Larsen & von Ins. 2010 The rate of growth in scientific publication and the

decline in coverage provided by Science Citation Index. Scientometrics, 84(3):575-

603. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2909426/

Mabe, M., 2003. The growth and number of journals. Serials, 16(2), pp.191–197.

http://doi.org/10.1629/16191

Stapleton, S., Minson, V., and Spears, L. 2017. Investigating the research practices

of agriculture scholars: Findings from the University of Florida. Journal of Food

and Agriculture Information, 18(3-4): 327-346.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10496505.2017.1335209

https://slideplayer.com/slide/232700/