Employers, promotion committees and funder stakeholders give weight to journals indexed in internationally recognised journal metric tools. Aim to integrate the use of these selection and evaluation tools into your publication planning process and also consider prioritising journals accordingly.
Once you have developed a short list of potential journals for publication - use these tools to gather important supporting information to inform your decisions.
Using these tools will save time - information is presented consistently and there are comparative options.
Citation indexes are helpful to expose connections/networks between different authors, journals and topics. These specialised tools offer the opportunity to sort by number of citations, create graphs and perhaps see patterns unfold that can inform your decision about the best source to publish in.
InCites - Journal Citation Reports
The Scimago Journal and Country rank
Different sources of citation information mixes unique journal indicators into the citation data mix. It is best to keep in mind that these indicators are all built on unique algorithms, over different time frames, and includes differences in their base data sources. They fit into each other in a complex fashion.
Altmetric Explorer for Institutions
UlrichsWeb : global serials directory (ProQuest)
PubsHub: Journals & Congresses
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal selectors are small publisher applications that can be used to suggest potentially suitable journals. You can even use these to practice and improve you abstract writing and keyword creation prior to submitting your article manuscript. Remember to use other evaluation tools to complement the suggestions from the selectors. We list only a few below.
Search all Springer and BioMed Central journals to find the most suitable journal for your manuscript.
Elsevier® Journal Finder helps you find journals that could be best suited for publishing your scientific article. Please also consult the journal’s Aims and Scope for further guidance. Ultimately, the Editor will decide on how well your article matches the journal.
Manuscript Matcher (Match) is built into Endnote Online. It is a Clarivate Analytics addin to Endnote. You will need to have a Web of Science account. Your Web of Science login allows access to Endnote online, Web of Science Core Collection, Current Contents Connect and similar Clarivate Analytics products. The feature can also be accessed via Endnote desktop or from within MS Word via the Endnote CWYW ribbon.
Matcher works best when your title has at least 10 words and your abstract has at least 100 words.