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Gerstein Science Information Centre

Getting Published in Health Sciences

Choosing a journal

Criteria to consider when choosing a journal:

  • goodness of fit of journal and its aims and scope to your study 
  • Read aims, mission, and scope of journal
  • Look at articles published by that journal
  • Which journals have you cited frequently?
  • What do your colleagues or supervisors recommend?
  • Is Open Access a requirement for your research or is this part of your values?
  • Look at journal's acceptance rate

 

Why choose a journal before writing manuscript?

Some journals have requirements or recommendations with regards to following reporting guidelines, or depositing data and code.  Journals often have a structure or format for manuscripts. It is easier to craft the manuscript to these requirements from the beginning rather than force a completed manuscript to fit them as an after thought.

PRO TIP: Be careful and avoid deceptive journals !

 

Journal selection tools:

1. JANE: Journal / Author Name Estimator

  • Enter your title and abstract and JANE will recommend journals by comparing your information to that in PubMed
  • Best for health science topics.

 

2. EndNote Manuscript Matcher

  • You need to create a Web of Science and EndNote Online account.(free to University of Toronto students, staff, faculty).
  • Login to EndNote Online (http://www.myendnoteweb.com )  and click Match tab.
  • Suggests journals from across the sciences, health, sciences, social sciences and humanities indexed by Web of Science.
  • Watch video. 
     

3. Elsevier JournalFinder

  • Enter your abstract to get recommendations on journals in the health sciences, sciences, social sciences indexed in Scopus
  • JournalFinder FAQ

 

Publisher -specific journal matchers

SpringerNature Journal Suggester

  • Enter title and  abstract to get recommendations of journals published by Springer Nature
  • Subject areas include: biomedicine, life sciences, engineering, chemistry, computer science, criminology

 

Taylor & Francis Journal Suggester Beta

  • Enter title and  abstract to get recommendations of journals published by Taylor & Francis
  • Subject areas: medicine, health, pharmaceutical sciences
     

Wiley JournalFinder Beta

  • Enter title and  abstract to get recommendations of journals published by Wiley
  • Subject areas: sciences, engineering, health sciences