Journal recommenders, journal finders, or journal suggesters are online software tools that assist researchers in finding the most appropriate journals for their manuscripts. Such tools leverage strategies, such as comparing manuscript titles, abstracts, keywords, or subject areas with journal aims and scops, impact factors, or time from submission to publication time. These online tools can reduce time and effort for authors willing to publish their work in credible and relevant journals. However, as an author, it would be better to know how effective these tools are for you. How do they find journals? What are the benefits of using them?
This article will address such questions by reviewing the latest studies on journal recommendations.
Top 5 most popular journal recommenders
There are several online available journal recommenders nowadays. However, the top 5 popular ones are as follows.
1- Elsevier journal finder
This is a web-based online tool that assists users in finding the most appropriate Elsevier journals for their manuscripts. It works based on a machine learning algorithm to compare the manuscript title and abstract with the scope of its database journals, which consists of over 2800 that are indexed in Scopus. Authors can use Elsevier journal finder to consider their preferences for open access, impact factor, acceptance rate, publication speed, and publishing fees. It gathers a list of journals ranked by relevance score, plus information on each journal’s aim and scope, editorial board, submission guidance, etc.; from the list of journals this tool provides, an author can access their homepage and submission system.
How does Elsevier’s journal finder work?
To work with this tool, the author should enter the title and abstract of their manuscript in the relevant boxes. The tool will compare this information with other previously published articles in the Elsevier journals in Scopus. It utilizes a similarity measure to calculate the degree of similarity between your manuscript profile and other journal profile. Whatever similarity score is higher, the journal would be more relevant to the author’s manuscript. It can provide a list of up to 40 suggested journals with the highest similarity score that is automatically sorted by relevance score. However, authors can change the sort by other criteria such as impact factor or publication time.
2- SAGE publishing journal recommender
The second journal recommender in our top 5 list is SAGE publishing journal recommender, another web-based tool that helps authors to find the most suitable SAGE journals for their papers. This tool utilizes artificial intelligence to match the manuscript titles, keywords, and subject area with the metadata of over 1000 SAGE journals among different fields. This tool can consider authors’ preferences regarding indexing, journal type, and SAGE Path eligibility. Notably, SAGE Path is a free article transfer service that provides an alternative option for publication if the first-choice journal does not accept the manuscript. It can give authors a list of journals ranked by relevance score and information on each journal’s aims and scope, editorial board, submission guidelines, and possible publication charges. SAGE journal recommender enables authors to check a journal’s objectives and scope and submit their manuscript directly from the tool via SAGE Path.
How does the SAGE publishing journal recommender tool work?
To work with this tool, an author should create a profile for their manuscript based on its title, keywords, and subject area. After that, the web-based tool compares this information with previously published papers in SAGE journals and uses a similarity measure to assess the similarity degree between the manuscript profile and the journal’s profiles. Like Elsevier journal finder, this tool gives a list of up to 40 recommended journals with the highest similarity score.
3- Springer Journal suggester, by Springer Nature
The third online tool in our list would be the Springer journal suggester, which enables authors to find the most appropriate Springer and BMC journals for their papers. It utilizes a semantic analysis algorithm to compare the manuscript title, abstract, and subject area with the scope and content of over 2500 journals throughout different disciplines. Springer Journal’s suggester tool takes into account the researcher’s preferences for impact factor, acceptance rate, publication speed, and open access options. A list provided by this tool ranks journals by relevance score, along with information on each journal’s aims and objectives, editorial board, submission guidelines, and publication charges. Authors and researchers can access the journal’s homepage and submission system directly using this tool.
How does the Springer Journal suggest work?
This tool works based on analyzing manuscript information such as its title, abstract, and subject area via a semantic analysis algorithm. It can identify the key terms and main concepts of a manuscript and match them with the metadata of each journal. It measures the relevance score for each journal based on the similarity between a manuscript and a journal, and the higher the relevance score, the more relevant a journal for a manuscript. It can generate a list of journals up to 20 recommended ones that are sorted based on the relevance score. However, an author can change the sorting type by other criteria such as impact factor or publication speed.
4- IEEE publication recommender by IEEE
The fourth place in our list belongs to the IEEE publication recommender provided by IEEE. This tool uses a text analysis algorithm to compare manuscript titles, keywords, abstracts, or even full text with the scope and subject of more than 200 IEEE periodicals and over 2000 conferences of various fields. It can consider the researcher and author’s preferences regarding impact factor, citation count, time from submission to publication, and open access availability. Like other journal recommenders, it offers a list of publications ranked by relevance score and information on each publication scope. Users are also allowed to download the results of their research and submit their papers to their preferred journal from the tool.
How does the IEEE publication recommender work?
This tool works just like the tools mentioned above and can provide a list of up to 20 recommended publications with the highest relevance.
5- Wiley journal finder beta
Last but not least journal recommender tool in our list is Wiley journal finder beta. It utilizes a natural language processing algorithm to match the paper title and abstract with the scope and content of more than 1600 Wiley journals throughout various disciplines. The author’s preferences this tool considers are open access, impact factor, acceptance rate, publication speed, and publication charge or fee. Its provided list is ranked by relevance score and information on each journal’s aims and objectives, editorial board, etc., and users can access their preferred journal homepages from the tool.
How does Wiley Journal Finder beta work?
The work process of this tool is just like the IEEE publication recommender tool.
How can journal recommenders be efficient for authors?
In general, journal recommenders are helpful and convenient tools for authors seeking the right, high-quality, and relevant journals for their manuscripts. The benefits of such tools for authors would be as follow:
- Saving time and effort
Using such tools, researchers and authors can quickly and conveniently find relevant and appropriate journals for their papers, so they don’t need to browse different databases and websites.
- Decreasing information overload
Such tools can assist authors in dealing with the overwhelming amount of information online about thousands of journals throughout various fields and publishers. By eliminating irrelevant and low-quality journals, these tools can offer a reasonable and manageable list of possible candidates that matches the author’s criteria and preferences.
- Improving publication access
Such tools can boost the chance of publication access by suggesting journals are more likely to accept the manuscript based on its topic and subject, quality, novelty, and contribution. By eliminating unsuitable or mismatched journals, the authors can decrease the chance of rejection, delay, or wasted effort and save time.
- Increasing publication impact
Journal recommenders can enhance the publication impact by suggesting journals that have higher visibility, reputation, and citation rate in relevant disciplines. These tools can help authors increase their work’s dissemination and recognition by reaching a broader and more appropriate audience.
- Boosting publication ethics
Such tools can help authors avoid predatory or fraudulent journals that charge excessive fees, provide poor editorial services, or lack peer review, which enhances publication ethics. They can also assist authors in being informed and making ethical decisions by offering reliable and transparent information about each journal’s quality indicators, policies, and practices.
Final words
Journal recommenders are effective tools for helping authors to find the most appropriate journals for their manuscripts. They have various benefits, such as saving time, decreasing information overload, improving publication access, Increasing publication impact, etc.