Skip to Main Content

Strategic Publishing: Choose where to publish

Choose where to publish

Knowing what research topics are in demand by journal publishers can give you an edge when it comes to getting your research 'out there'.

These tools may help when choosing a journal for submission:

Knowing what research topics are in demand by journal publishers and conference organisers can give you an edge when it comes to getting your research 'out there'.

Attending conferences is a useful method of keeping up to date and invaluable for networking with colleagues in your research field.

 

  • Find calls for papers (CFPs) for journal articles and conference presentations:
Conference Alerts
Papers Invited
Wiki for CFP
Call4paper
Open Research
CFP List
CFP from University of Pennsylvania
H Net

... or search for your research topic and "Call for Papers" OR CFP.

Book: publishing requires legal deposit of a copy with the National Library of NZ. International Standard Book Number (ISBN or e-ISBN) needed if you self-publish; otherwise, your publisher will organise this.

Journal: requires legal deposit of the print copy or access to the online copy. International Standard Serial Number (ISSN or e-ISSN) needed.

Score or piece of music requires a legal deposit of the printed score or its parts. International Standard Music Number (ISMN) needed.

Learn more about registering your research output.

Article in an online journal will receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) supplied by the journal publisher. If self-publishing online, note the URL.

Consider the Scope of the Journal

To effectively link a journal's scope with your target audience when publishing an academic article, consider these key strategies:

1. Align Your Research with the Journal’s Scope

  • Read the journal’s aims and scope to ensure your study fits within its thematic and disciplinary focus
  • Identify whether the journal prioritises theoretical, applied, or interdisciplinary research to match your article's approach
  • Check past issues to see if similar research has been published

2. Understand the Journal’s Target Audience

  • Determine whether the journal serves academics, practitioners, policymakers, or interdisciplinary readers
  • Review author guidelines and past articles to see the level of technical detail and writing style expected
  • Look at journal metrics (e.g., readership demographics, citation impact) to assess audience engagement
  • Does the target audience of the journal/publisher align with the target readers of your work?

3. Tailor Your Writing & Presentation

  • Use terminology and framing that resonates with the journal’s primary readership (e.g., specialists vs. generalists)
  • Highlight aspects of your research that align with current trends or debates in the journal’s field
  • Structure your introduction and discussion to clearly show how your research contributes to the journal’s scope

This will ensure you increase your chances of acceptance and maximise the impact of your publication.

Check Author Rights

It is important to understand your rights when you sign a publishing agreement. This can impact how you can use your own work later. Apart from publication, you may want to put copies on your website, share it via social media, republish it, use it in your teaching, etc.

Wondering about author order if a paper is co-authored? Check the ICMJE Vancouver Protocols for criteria.

Check out the author's information on the publisher's website. They may have a sample contract, e.g. an open access journal where authors retain copyright or a journal where copyright is assigned but some rights are retained by the author.

If your publication is open access then you will have the right to reuse your own work (as will others). In most cases you retain the copyright and give a licence to the publisher to use the work.

Many more traditional agreements will involve the 'transfer' or 'assignment' of copyright to the publisher. There will likely be limitations on where and how you can copy or redistribute the article.

Ask the following questions:

  • Can you publish articles related to your thesis?
  • Can you use it in your teaching?
  • Or deposit in OUR Archive?
  • Is there an embargo period that prohibits sharing during this time?
  • Can you add it to an academic networking site like Academia.edu, ResearchGate, or discipline-based repositories

 

If no mention is made of these issues, raise them with the publisher. You can negotiate and amend your agreement. Use the Author's Addendum (SPARC) to negotiate your rights or check out the Authors' Alliance.

Check publishers' policies about rights in the different versions of a work, e.g. Jisc's open policy finder database (formerly sherpa).

Contact the University's Copyright Officer or your Business Development Manager or Research Advisor for assistance with interpreting publisher contracts.