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Researcher Workshop Series

Here you can access condensed recordings and supplemental materials of the Researcher Workshop Series offered by the Library Research Services department.

Preparing to Publish: Find the Best Journal
and Know Your Rights as an Author

In a landscape of predatory publishers, journal impact factors, required open access, and author fees, determining which journal to submit a manuscript to can be a complex calculation. Once a manuscript is accepted, authors may not know their rights as the copyright holder, and this can affect future scholarship. This workshop presents tools that assist in finding the right journal and tips for avoiding predatory publishers. Additionally, learn your rights as academic author and engage in a discussion about negotiating those rights with publishers.

Supplemental Materials

Handouts: 

Find the Right Journal

Avoiding predatory journals is important for many reasons - from protecting your academic reputation to making sure your research and work stays a part of the scholarly record. Many of the actions you take towards finding the best journal for your research (as outlined below) will help you weed out or avoid any potential predatory journals. Think. Check. Submit. is a cross-organization initiative from the publishing industry that can take an author through simple steps to avoid disreputable or predatory publishers and journals. Also, if you are uncertain about the credibility of a journal, always check with your librarian.
Think Check Submit website

Tools to Help You Identify Potential Journals

 
Read 2 - 3 Issues of the Journal to Determine
  • Author Contributions from Different Countries
  • Availability of Persistent Identifier (e.g., DOI)
  • Journal Author-Institution Bias
  • Journal Geographic Bias
  • Journal Methodology Bias
  • Journal Significance Bias
  • Known Authors
Use the Journal Website to Determine
  • Author Charges
  • Author Rights / Copyright
  • Electronic Publication before Print
  • Issue per Year
  • Journal Aim and Scope
  • Journal Ethics
  • Journal Policies
  • Online Publication with Tracking
Use Journal Citation Reports to Find
  • Impact Factors
  • Citation Half-Life
  • Journals with Impact Factors

Use Eigenfactor Journal Raking Search to Find

  • Eigenfactor journal cores
  • Article influence score using Eigenfactor
Use Scimago Journal Rank to Find
  • Impact through H Index
  • Journals Ranked with H Index
Use Journal Metrics to Find
  • Impact through CiteScore (for Elsevier Journals)
To Find Acceptance & Rejection Rates Use

To Find the Cost of a Specific Journal, Use

Use UlrichsWeb Global Serials Directory to Find
  • Abstracting and Indexing
  • Age of Journal
  • Issues per Year
  • Publisher
  • Peer Review (Refereed)
  • Open Access
Author Rights
 
United States Copyright Law
Copyright law protects your original works that are fixed in a tangible medium. Copyright gives you, as the author, rights to use your work how you see fit. This allows for you, as the author, to reach the widest possible audience. 
  • Reproduce the work
    • Make copies for colleagues and students
  • Prepare derivative works based upon the work
    • Revise for a subsequent article, book chapter, or book adds to the work
  • Distribute copies of the work
    • Use copies in classes
    • Include copies in course packets 
    • Post the work to your personal website
    • Post the work to a Learning Management System such as Canvas
    • Post the work to UNC's Institutional Repository
  • Publicly perform the work
  • Publicly display the work
  • Publicly perform sound recordings via digital audio transmission
Tools to Help Maintain Author Rights and Still Get Published