Resources for Grad Student Publishing
Is your research publishable?
- Likely yes. There are thousands of academic journals with a nearly infinite scope of discipline, aims, and audiences. Choosing the right publication opportunity is one of the key skills you should develop as a scholar.
How will your research contribute to scholarly communication?
- While some research addresses gaps, it is not required for innovation. Literature reviews, theoretical or conceptual frameworks, practitioner pieces, grey literature, and other content are just as valuable as empirical research.
- Consider your audience. If you seek to impact K-12 pedagogy, publishing your work in teacher-accessible publications like Teacher Education Quarterly.
Is your research en vogue?
- Research trends often dominate current scholarly conversations, e.g. artificial intelligence. Stay true to your research passions and do not try to force your research into an emerging or current trend if it's not applicable. Choose a publication that meets the aim of your research.
Select at least two potential publications appropriate for your work.
- Consult with faculty and your librarian about publications.
- Use a directory of publishing like Ulrich's or Cabell's to research journals.
- Explore databases & publisher’s websites for journal scope & calls for papers.
- Consider Open Access opportunities that require little to no article processing charges (APCs) or that may be covered by your university's OA agreements
- Consider the journal's copyright policies. Do you retain copyright for the work or transfer copyright to the publisher?
- Cabell's Directories This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1978, the goal has been to help professors, graduate students and researchers to publish their manuscripts in academic journals. To achieve this objective the company strives to maintain current contact information and websites for a large number of journals. Also, Cabell’s seeks to provide information on publication guidelines, type of review, number of external review, acceptance rate, ISSN, submission process, and more. (NOTE: USD has subscriptions to the Psychology, Business, and Educational directories.)
- Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory This link opens in a new window
Provides publication information for magazines, journals, newsletters, newspapers, and other periodicals. Coverage is international in scope
Additional Journal Selection Resources (most major publishers will have author guidance on their website)
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Submitting a Journal Manuscript and Peer Review - SpringerNature
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Choosing a Journal - (Taylor & Francis)
How long does it take to publish?
- Publication times vary by multiple factors including
- staffing (including reviewers)
- publication's issue frequency (e.g., 3x per year)
- number of manuscript revisions needed
- Allot approximately a year from initial submission to publication. Be cautious of journals that promise quick publication timelines (less than 6 months) especially for a fee. These journals may be predatory.
What's the typical peer review process?
- SPARC Author AddendumThe SPARC Author Addendum is a legal instrument that you can use to modify your copyright transfer agreements with non-open access journal publishers.
- Digital USDDigital USD is the University of San Diego's institutional repository and provides an open access platform for USD faculty to share their research data.