I am Done with Research: Which Journal to Choose?

By Evgeny Sedashov, Ph.D. in political science, assistant professor
and the academic director in Computational Social Sciences at HSE University.

When it comes to selecting publication outlets, researchers often pursue radically different strategies. The first option is to choose a journal in advance and then prepare the paper in accordance with its guidelines and style. The second strategy (which some people think is a more relaxed one) is when a researcher focuses on writing a text that describes the logic of the study and (if applicable) empirical results in the best possible way and then changes the text according to the journal requirements right before submitting the paper. Here a question arises: whether a correct strategy exists, and if it does, what features it contains. The general answer is “No,” but there are several easy-to-implement tips that can help a researcher overcome typical editorial barriers.

Know the journal expectations

The first thing to check is the journal’s aims and scope. Some journals, especially the top ones targeting a large audience, would keep their aims and scope purposefully vague. Others would be very specific in describing what topics and themes they expect a potential submission to cover. In any case, the aims and scope should always be your first stop. 

Second, the editor-in-chief’s preferences matter. There are editors who may dislike a particular topic or a particular research methodology. You can’t do anything about it, but if you know that the editor would be skeptical of your project, I suggest not sending your paper to this journal. It’s hard to know in most cases what the editor likes or dislikes, but in many fields, the circle of colleagues is very small, and this information may be available.

Check the formatting requirements and language variant

If you have a specific journal in mind when you start writing your paper, make sure to check its formatting guidelines and preferred language variant. There are several citation styles that journals frequently use: APA citation style, Chicago manual of style, and several others. Certain journals would simplify your life by providing editable templates; others would only use general guidelines. In any case, following the journal formatting guidelines would certainly improve your chances. 

Some journals explicitly require American or British variants of English, so it’s not very polite to ignore this requirement. Besides obvious grammar differences, American and British English have different idioms and standard expressions. If the journal does not have an explicit language requirement, check where the publisher’s office is registered and use the version of English that is official in that country. If the publisher is registered in a country where English is not an official language, check the university where the editor-in-chief works. If that does not help, for example, the editor also works in a university from a non-English speaking country, feel free to use the English variant you feel more comfortable with, but be consistent throughout the paper. If you work with co-authors, and there is no official language requirement, make sure you all use the same English variant. It also makes sense to designate a co-author who will proofread the final version and correct inconsistencies. 

Edit and proofread

Don’t ignore proofreading services unless you are completely confident in your language proficiency. Recent trends in this area are related to AI generative models, which can help with different tasks: from simple grammar checks to full text writing assistance. I personally don’t rely on generative AI when writing a draft and only use such tools for editing the text, mainly for grammar checks. Besides, some journals now have explicit policy about using generative AI - this is also something you might want to check in advance.

Cite the articles from the journal

It’s a good idea to cite some papers from the journal of your choice. If you don’t cite the papers from the journal, the editor might ask: Is this topic a good fit for the journal? Should we consider this submission if the author is not aware of the discussion happening on the journal pages? In addition, the citations help the journal increase its visibility, too.

Be patient and make changes

Sometimes papers require multiple submissions to get published. In fact, it’s not an easy thing to publish something on the first try, even if the project is of high quality. When you get rejected and attempt to re-submit the paper to a different journal, make necessary changes, at least in the abstract. After desk rejections, people tend not to make changes before trying another journal. However, another journal might have slightly different aims and scope, so changing the abstract accordingly won’t hurt. Of course, if you get rejected after a peer review, the changes will follow naturally as you respond to reviewers’ comments.

Identify your priority

You may consider dividing possible outlets for your paper into “long shot” and “likely hit” journals. If you have any time constraints, for instance, tenure or grant requirements, then sending the paper to a top-tier journal, that is, a long-shot journal, is a risky strategy. However, if time is not an issue, you can afford doing it to get very detailed reviewers’ comments. Reviewers rarely shirk their responsibilities if a top journal asks them to review an article. After addressing those comments, you will have significantly higher publication chances in your “likely hit” journal.

Write a good cover letter

Some people don’t realize that a cover letter might be a token of success. When writing a cover letter, try to avoid being repetitive and convey information not covered in the abstract. A cover letter should not repeat the abstract but rather expand on it. Write clearly why your article is a good fit for the journal, and highlight your contribution. But try not to exaggerate. 

Avoid using generic “Dear Sir/Madam” or “Dear Editors” and use a personal “Dear Professor….” This would signal that you at least checked the journal’s website carefully. 

Those tips mainly come from my own experience and the experience of my co-authors and researchers I have met in the past. Of course, there are many factors that influence the fate of a paper. But, the tips above have one common feature: they are easy to implement and can definitely increase your chances, even if by a small margin. Happy publishing.