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UPDATE (5/20/26 @ 7:30am AZ time):
The GCU Library's updated version of LopeCat, the library’s online catalog, is live! For more details on what has changed, visit the What's New Guide .
Publishing Resources: Selecting Journals for Publication
Resources to help with getting published
Tools for Publisher or Journal Selection
The GCU Library has selection tools that will assist you in identifying the appropriate journal for submission of your manuscript. In addition, you may consider the following tools and resources when determining the best journal for publication:
- Discuss and review recommendations from peers and supervisors.
- Use the library databases to find journals, browse by subject or look for articles on your topic and identify which journals publish similar articles.
- Analyze the citations of research in your subject field.
- Use journal directories and journal impact rankings .
- Use Cabells Journalytics Academic & Predatory Reports and search journals on a particular subject or for a specific journal title to review.
- Review a journal's website and information for authors and submission guidelines.
- Review professional association and society publications.
Journal Directories
Here are some directories of journals and publisher tools for locating and selecting journal titles. Start with the first link to Cabells Scholarly Analytics and then explore other relevant resources based on your subject matter. Need help navigating or have questions about any of the resources? Ask-A-Librarian for research assistance today!
- Cabells Journalytics Academic & Predatory Reports This link opens in a new windowThe Cabells Journalytics database assists researchers with locating publications that may be a good fit for manuscript publication by providing information on over 11,000 journals that includes contact information, manuscript and submission guidelines, and citation-backed metrics. The Predatory Reports database is the only searchable database of deceptive and fraudulent journals and includes comprehensive reports detailing violations of over 13,000 journals that fail basic quality criteria.
- DOAJ This link opens in a new windowFull Text
Provides access to over 2,000 full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals from varied subject areas. The Directory of Open Access Journals includes access to journals that use a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Journals are required to have quality controls including peer-review or editorial quality control to be included. - Retraction Watch This link opens in a new windowThe Retraction Watch Database collects information on retractions of published journal articles. Search a specific article, or by author, subject, or journal. Review the User Guide before searching.
- Ulrichsweb This link opens in a new windowContains detailed information on more than 383,000 periodicals covering more than 977 subject areas. Includes information on academic and scholarly journals, e-journals, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and more. Includes ISSN, publisher, language, subject, abstracting & indexing coverage, full-text database coverage, tables of contents, and reviews written by librarians.
- Directory of Nursing Journals This link opens in a new windowWelcome to the Directory of Nursing Journals, a joint service of Nurse Author & Editor and INANE. Our primary goal in maintaining this list is to help nurse authors find suitable and reputable journals in which to publish their work. We also intend this Directory to affirm, for readers and consumers of nursing literature, the credibility of literature sources used to guide practice, research, policy and education.
- Elsevier Journal Finder This link opens in a new windowElsevier® 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.
- IEEE Publication Recommender This link opens in a new windowBrought to you by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Enginners, this search tool allows you to search for both periodicals and conferences to find the best match for your scholarly article.
- JANE - Journal/Author Name Estimator This link opens in a new windowHave you recently written a paper, but you're not sure to which journal you should submit it? Or maybe you want to find relevant articles to cite in your paper? Or are you an editor, and do you need to find reviewers for a particular paper? Jane can help! Just enter the title and/or abstract of the paper in the box, and click on 'Find journals', 'Find authors' or 'Find Articles'. Jane will then compare your document to millions of documents in PubMed to find the best matching journals, authors or articles.
- Taylor & Francis Journal Suggester This link opens in a new windowSearch Taylor & Francis publications for a good match to one of their publications.
- Web of Science Manuscript Matcher This link opens in a new windowSearch Web of Science master journal list to find a match for your publication in a journal that's indexed on the Web of Science platform.
- Wiley Journal Finder This link opens in a new windowSearch Wiley publications for a good match for your research.
Things to Avoid / Predatory Publishers
When reviewing and analyzing the best journal titles for submission of your research, it is also important to be aware of predatory, vanity and low quality publishers. You should not only think about what journal titles and publishers to use, but also be aware of which ones to avoid. There can be predatory publishers who, for fees, will quickly agree to publish your manuscript, but they can really be scam or fake publishers. Below are some readings and lists to consult and some items to think about to find quality, scholarly outlets for your publication:
- Are you familiar with the publisher or the association? Are they a known professional society or you are aware of their other publications?
- Is the journal indexed in library databases? Is it listed in the Cabells Directories of Publishing Opportunities
?
- Also check Cabells list of predatory journals. After you enter Cabells you can click on "Predatory" in the featured list.
- How long has the journal been in publication?
- Can you easily identify contact information and editorial policies on the journal's website?
- If the journal is open access only, check to see if it is listed in the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) or make sure it is not on Beall's list .
Articles & Blogs on Predatory Publishing
- Beware of predatory Journals. This link opens in a new windowAmerican Nurse Journal Sep2022; 17(9): 103-106.
- How I Became Easy Prey This link opens in a new windowScience, Vol 364, No. 6440, p. 602.
- Predatory journals: The silent intruder. This link opens in a new windowDermatologic Therapy. Mar/Apr2020, Vol. 33 Issue 2, p1-2.
- Predatory Publishers and Conference Organizers: Just Say No! This link opens in a new windowNutrition Today (NUTR TODAY), Nov/Dec2019; 54(6): 261-270.
- Protect your scientific reputation: Beware of predatory journals! This link opens in a new windowNursing Practice Today 2023; 10(2): 81-83.
