How to Choose a Journal and Submit

Shortlist 3 to 5 candidate journals by checking which ones appear most often
in your references, whether they have published similar topics recently, and
whether your study fits their Aim and Scope. Prepare your manuscript and cover
letter according to the Author Guidelines to avoid desk rejection, and rank
your candidates so you can switch quickly if the first choice declines.

Why Does Journal Selection Matter?

Even a good paper gets desk-rejected (rejected without review) if sent to the wrong journal. Desk rejection rates at top journals reach 30-50%, and the most common reason is "scope mismatch." A single submission-rejection cycle takes 3-6 months, so choosing the right journal on your first attempt is critical for saving time.

On the other hand, submitting to a journal far below your research level means voluntarily reducing your work's impact and citation potential.

What Criteria Should You Use to Select a Journal?

1. Scope Fit (Aim & Scope)

This is the most important criterion. Read the journal's Aim & Scope page carefully.

Does my research topic fall within the journal's scope?
Does the journal's preferred research type (empirical, theoretical, review) match mine?
Is the journal's readership the audience that would be interested in my research?

2. Impact Metrics

Metric	Description	How to Use
Impact Factor (IF)	Average citations of papers over the past 2 years	Gauge relative position within the field
CiteScore	Scopus-based, 4-year citation average	Cross-compare with IF
h-index	Cumulative citation impact of the journal	Assess long-term influence
SJR	Weights citation quality	Useful for cross-field comparison
Quartile (Q1-Q4)	Percentile rank within the field	Q1-Q2 journals are the typical target

Note: Impact Factor benchmarks differ dramatically by field. Medicine (IF 5-10 is common) and education (IF 2-3 is top-tier) cannot be judged by the same standard. Always compare within the same field.

3. Review Timeline

Stage	Typical Range
Initial review (desk)	1-4 weeks
Peer review	1-6 months
Post-revision re-review	2-8 weeks
Overall (submission to publication)	6-18 months

If you have graduation deadlines or project timelines, prioritize journals with shorter review periods. Many journals publish average review times on their websites or ScholarOne.

4. Open Access (OA)

Type	Description	APC (Article Processing Charge)
Gold OA	Freely available immediately upon publication	$1,000-$5,000
Green OA	Self-archiving preprint/postprint	Free
Hybrid	Subscription journal with OA option	$2,000-$4,000
Subscription	Access for subscribers only	Free (no author charge)

Check whether your research grant covers APC costs or whether your institution has an OA publishing support program.

5. Acceptance Rate

Top journals: 5-15% acceptance rate
Mid-tier journals: 20-40% acceptance rate
Lower-tier/new journals: 40%+ acceptance rate

Be realistic. If this is your first paper, starting with a Q2-Q3 journal can be a strategic choice.

How Do You Find Candidate Journals?

Method 1: Look at Your References

Review your paper's reference list. The journals you cited most frequently are likely to overlap in scope with your research, and their readership is likely to be interested in your work.

Method 2: Journals That Published Similar Papers

Check where recent papers with similar topics, methods, and populations were published. Search your research topic in Nubint AI's AI Paper Search to identify the source journals of related papers.

Method 3: Journal Recommendation Tools

Elsevier Journal Finder: Enter your abstract and get recommendations for suitable Elsevier journals
Springer Journal Suggester: For Springer Nature journals
Web of Science Master Journal List: Search and compare journals

Method 4: Consult Your Advisor

The experience of a researcher who has been active in the field for years is the most practical resource. Ask directly: "Which journal would be a good fit for this paper?"

Journal Comparison Table

After narrowing down to 3-5 candidates, create a comparison table.

Criterion	Journal A	Journal B	Journal C
Scope fit	◎	○	○
IF / Quartile	3.2 / Q1	2.1 / Q2	1.5 / Q2
Review timeline	~6 months	~3 months	~2 months
OA / APC	Hybrid/$3K	Gold/$2K	Subscription/Free
Similar papers published	3 recent	1 recent	None
Acceptance rate	~15%	~25%	~40%

Strategy: Submit to the most suitable journal first, and switch to the second choice if rejected. Having a ranked list of 1st-2nd-3rd choices ready lets you respond quickly after a rejection.

Journals to Avoid

Predatory Journals

These journals charge fees and publish without genuine peer review. Publishing here damages your academic credibility and cannot be listed on your CV.

Warning signs:

Unsolicited submission invitations via email (especially with awkward grammar)
Unrealistically fast review (~1 week)
No domain experts on the editorial board
ISSN and indexing information unclear on the journal website
Abnormally low or high APC

How to verify:

Check listing in DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
Check indexing in Web of Science / Scopus
Use the Think. Check. Submit. checklist

Checklist

☐ Have you read the journal's Aim & Scope and confirmed scope fit?
☐ Has the journal recently published papers on similar topics?
☐ Have you checked the journal's IF/CiteScore and field ranking?
☐ Does the review timeline fit your schedule?
☐ Have you checked OA status and APC costs?
☐ Have you verified it is not a predatory journal?
☐ Have you consulted your advisor/colleagues?
☐ Have you prepared a ranked list of 1st-3rd choice journals?

How Do You Prepare for Submission?

Read the Author Guidelines from start to finish, and prepare the manuscript format, reference style, and cover letter according to the requirements. Once you have selected a journal, complete the final proofreading using the How to Proofread Your Paper guide, then prepare for submission in the following order.

Checking Author Guidelines

Every journal has different formatting requirements. Read the Author Guidelines from start to finish before submission. Formatting mismatches alone can cause desk rejection.

Manuscript length, font, margins, line spacing
Reference style (APA, Vancouver, etc.)
Abstract word count limit, number of keywords
Table and figure formats, resolution requirements
Supplementary materials policy

Writing the Cover Letter

The cover letter is the first document the editor reads. Write it concisely but persuasively.

Include:

Paper title and target journal name
2-3 sentences summarizing the key findings
Why this research is a good fit for the journal
The study's original contribution
A statement that the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere simultaneously
Conflict of interest declaration

Pre-Submission Checklist

☐ Have you read the journal's Author Guidelines from start to finish?
☐ Does the manuscript format comply with the guidelines?
☐ Does the reference style match the journal's requirements?
☐ Is the abstract within the word count limit?
☐ Do tables and figures meet the formatting requirements?
☐ Have you written the cover letter?
☐ Have all co-authors reviewed the final manuscript?
☐ Have you prepared the conflict of interest declaration?

Submission-to-Publication Timeline

Stage	Duration
Submission → initial review (desk)	1-2 weeks
Peer review	1-3 months
Revision preparation and resubmission	2-6 weeks
Second review	2-4 weeks
Final decision → publication	1-2 weeks
Total	Average 6-12 months

Summary

Journal selection and submission follow the process: select a suitable journal → comply with Author Guidelines → write the cover letter → complete the checklist → submit. Scope fit is the top priority, and have 1st-3rd choice journals ranked in advance to prepare for rejection. After submission, when you receive peer review feedback, refer to the How to Respond to Peer Review guide.