Before Submission

Choosing where to submit your manuscript

Section 8.20 of the Code of Good Practice in Research offers the following guidance:

'Selecting the most appropriate journal or publisher to approach to publish research is complicated and depends on the subject area and the specific research topic. Mentors, line managers and colleagues from the relevant disciplinary area are best placed to offer expert advice. Researchers should consider publication ethics when selecting where to publish which includes assessing the journal's reputation and business model, their author rights, the scientific rigour of the articles they publish, the peer review process and how they handle integrity and misconduct issues.'

Seek a journal/publisher that will uphold the highest standards of rigour, for example by ensuring that data and methodologies (as appropriate to the discipline) underpinning your research are made available alongside the publication itself.

How can I identify trusted journals?

Researchers seeking to publish their work can choose from a wide range of journals.

However, please note that some publishers do not deliver the rigour of academic scrutiny expected of scholarly publishing nor provide appropriate standards of service. Publishing your paper in these "predatory" journals may also limit the visibility of your publication, as these journals are typically not indexed in literature databases.

It is not in your interest to publish your research findings in these journals. An Arxiv article from 2019 says:

‘We studied citation statistics over a five-year period in Google Scholar for 250 random articles published in such journals in 2014, and found an average of 2,6 citations per article and that 60% of the articles had no citations at all. For comparison a random sample of articles published in the approximately 25,000 peer reviewed journals included in the Scopus index had an average of 18,1 citations in the same period with only 9% receiving no citations. We conclude that articles published in predatory journals have little scientific impact.’

Recommended approaches.

Use expert knowledge of the field. We recommend that researchers use their disciplinary knowledge — or that of an experienced colleague — to gauge the trustworthiness of a journal. One approach is to check the editorial board for names of known and respected researchers. Be especially vigilant of journal editors that approach you with unsolicited communications.

Use a practical checklist: Think Check Submit provides a short video introduction, guidance and an online checklist to help researchers identify trusted journals.

Contact your subject/College librarian. They will be able to advise on the trustworthiness of journals.

Relevant publications on this topic

 

Before submitting your manuscript

Research Publications and Copyright Policy

Authors should consider copyright options in relation to the Research Publications and Copyright Policy before submission, as decisions at this stage can affect future use of the work. Further guidance, including a workflow for authors to follow, is available: Research Publications and Copyright Policy.

Open Access Costs

Authors are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the Open Access options available from their chosen publisher, and to contact the open access team ahead of submission with any queries.

Block funds can only be used to meet the Open Access requirements of the relevant funder. Not all costs can be covered. To find out if block funds cover costs for your funder and chosen publisher please contact us at: research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk

Good Authorship

The University promotes a positive research culture, in which colleagues are recognised and valued for their varied contributions to a research activity. Ensuring that collaborators get due credit for their activities is good practice: it promotes fairness, supports careers, and increases the transparency of, and trust in, our findings. 

Authors should familiarise themselves with the guidance in the Code of Good Practice in Research. 

The University expects authorship credit to be based on:

  • Substantial contributions to conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  • Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

The University expects that a CRediT (Contributor Rles Taxonomy) statement is included in a research publication wherever possible.  Tenzing is a useful tool for generating this list Tenzing contributor list generator

Many journals allow you to include authorship roles as part of the submission process. If they do not request this, we suggest that you try to include the role descriptors in the text of the paper.

If you have an agreed list of Glasgow author roles that are cannot be submitted with the paper, then we can record these in Enlighten. 

You may use the form below or email details of the roles to research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk. Note that the corresponding author at the University of Glasgow is responsible for ensuring that roles for all Glasgow authors are agreed. 

Add Credit Roles Form

 

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