 |
Library |
These sites have tools and information to help you decide where to publish.
If you are a new or commencing researcher your should be using your contacts to get advice on appropriate places to publish. These include:
Scopus and Web of Science databases have search options that can identify potentialy useful new contacts in your field.
If you are early-career or trying to quickly advance your career, it is important to publish in high-impact journals.
The USC Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) has introduced funding to support USC researchers interested in publishing in Open Access journals.
This funding is available, subject to approval, to cover article processing costs in either Biomed Central (BMC) or Public Library of Science (PLoS) Open Access journals.
Contact research@usc.edu.au if you are interested in applying for funding for Open Access journal publishing.
Publishing in Open Access journals offers many advantages to both institution and researcher.
A full explanation of the varieties of Open Access are offered here: http://www.caul.edu.au/caul-programs/open-scholarship/open-scholarship-resources/open-access-faq
Open Access:
The number of Open Access scholarly book publishers is growing rapidly.
Many of them are listed here: http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Publishers_of_OA_books
These books have the same benefits as Open Access journals; for author, institution and reader. Your product is more discoverable and useable.
You should be careful to choose a "good" publisher. Some of the publishers on the above list indicate that they peer-review submissions, so these should be acceptable for HERDC reporting.
Citation is pivotal to research success, and influences your decision about where to publish. The significance of research is measured by how often it is cited, and where. Analysing publication data is a field of research in itself (bibliometrics).
Some issues around citation:
|
|
|
A paper in an influential journal is more valuable to you than several publications in less prestigious journals. Always aim to submit your research to the most highly regarded journals in your field. Use the tools in this guide (See the Impact Factors tab) to find influential journals in your discipline. |
ERA - Excellence in Research Australia - was a 2008 government initiative to evaluate and identify high quality research. One of the measures used was publication in quality journals. Initially, ERA identified a list of quality journals and ranked them from A* (the top 5%) to C (the bottom 50%).
For the 2012 round, ERA made the decision to change their journal ranking criteria, and journals are no longer ranked as A*, A, B or C. However, the original ranked lists are still available, and may be a useful tool to determine journals of quality.
You can save the journals list and sort it by FoR - Field of Research - to identify potential publications. Journals may have up to 3 Fields of Research, or may be defined as Multidisciplinary.
Search the USC catalogue or the Journals and Newspapers A-Z List to determine whether USC has subscription or free access to a particular journal.
Conference papers can count as valid research output, but the guidelines are quite strict and very prescriptive. In general only full peer-reviewed papers count (not posters, abstracts etc.).
For full guidelines on HERDC requirements for conference papers see their 2012 Specifications, p. 31.
Books and book chapters can count as valid research output, but the guidelines are quite strict and very prescriptive.
For full guidelines on HERDC requirements for books and book chapters see their 2012 Specifications, pp. 28-30.
If you want to gain maximum credibility and research impact you should choose a major scholarly publisher in your field.
Major publishers like Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press, LWW, SAGE, ACS, Cambridge University Press and Wiley cover most academic disciplines but there are many others. A good guide is to find some very reputable recent books in your own field and see who the publishers are. The Library catalogue can be a useful tool in this search.
If you are asked to contribute a chapter to an edited monograph, it is best if it's a peer-reviewed volume. In many disciplines, peer-reviewed monographs or collections are as important as journals.
