Choose where to publish
In short: Build a map with Venues as the unit to see which journals and conferences carry your field and how they relate. Ask "Where should I publish this work?" in the Map queries bar for a recommended venue map. Save candidates with Save venue, ask Suggest venues for more, and check each one on SciVerse under Journals or Conferences. In SciNodes, a venue is a journal, conference, workshop or symposium.
Before you start
- Create a project whose corpus matches the topic of your manuscript. One way: export the publications your manuscript cites from your reference manager as RIS or BibTeX, then start a project with Build on my existing library and Use these as seeds. See Bring your reference library.
- Venue maps of the Citation, Co-citation and Bibliographic Coupling types need reference data. See Empty maps and reference data.
Which venue map answers which question?
| Your question (type it in the Map queries bar) | Map type | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| "Where should I publish this work?" | Citation, Co-citation or Bibliographic Coupling | Venues / Cited Venues |
| "Which journals are closest to the one I am targeting?" | Bibliographic Coupling or Co-citation | Venues / Cited Venues |
| "Which journals draw on the same literature as my work?" | Bibliographic Coupling | Venues |
| "Which journals carry the most weight in this literature?" | Citation or Co-citation | Venues / Cited Venues |
| "Which newer venues are gaining ground in this area?" | Bibliographic Coupling or Citation | Venues |
| "Which journals publish across disciplinary boundaries?" | Co-citation or Bibliographic Coupling | Cited Venues / Venues |
| "Is this literature concentrated in a few journals?" | Citation or Co-citation | Venues / Cited Venues |
| "Where do methods publications in this field get published?" | Bibliographic Coupling | Venues |
More questions are in the Query Bank under Journals & Venues.
Which type? Bibliographic Coupling links venues whose publications cite the same publications, so it finds venues that share your literature. Co-citation links venues cited together, so it shows a field's established outlets. Citation links venues that cite each other, so it shows where influence flows.
1. Build a venue map
- Open the Research Maps tab.
- Type "Where should I publish this work?" into the Map queries bar and click Map this question.
- Pick the Recommended option and click Explore with map.
Or open Expert Mode, choose a Map Type, open its settings (for example Citation Settings), set Unit of Analysis to Venue (or Cited venue for Co-citation) and click Plot Map.
Details: Create a map from a question · Expert Mode
2. Read the venue map
- Clusters group related venues. They're called Disciplinary Cluster on Citation maps, Field on Co-citation maps and Field Front on Bibliographic Coupling maps.
- Find a venue you know, then look at its neighbors. Venues in the same cluster share an audience or a literature.
- Size nodes by importance under Node Config → Weightage. On a Citation map, In-degree (citation count) shows how often a venue is cited within your corpus. On a Bibliographic Coupling map, Publications shows how many of your corpus publications each venue holds.
- Turn on Timeline to spot venues that are newer to the field.
- Click a venue node to see its details and metrics.
Details: Reading a map · Map controls and styling
3. Save and grow your shortlist
- Click a venue node and click Save venue. The button changes to Venue saved.
- Open Library → Venues to see your shortlist with Name, Type, ISSN, Publications and Saved date.
- Use View publications in corpus to read what each venue has published on your topic.
- Click Suggest venues to have SciNodes propose more (1 to 200, default 50, based on real catalog counts). This uses your weekly credits.
Venues are also saved automatically when you write a note about one, add it to Research in Formation or ask the assistant about it. You can change this in User Preferences.
Details: Saved authors and venues
4. Check venues on SciVerse
On SciVerse:
- Click Journals for "Active journals" (still publishing, ranked by total citations) or Conferences for "Active conferences".
- Use the search box on the list to find a venue by name.
- Open a venue to see its citation count, publication count, topic tags and publications.
- To see what a journal publishes on your topic, run a search, then use Refine by → Journal or Conference → Include.
Details: Browsing authors, organizations and venues · Filters and sorting
Tips
- Compare two maps: a Bibliographic Coupling map shows venues that share your literature now, and a Co-citation map shows the field's established outlets. A venue that ranks well on both is a strong candidate.
- To focus on open access, filter a corpus slice by open access in Expert Mode, or tick Open access only in SciVerse. Ask "Which parts of this field are openly accessible?" for a map.
- Always read the venue's own scope and submission guidelines before you submit.
FAQ
How do I find the right journal for my manuscript?
Build a corpus around your manuscript's topic, then ask "Where should I publish this work?". Shortlist the venues in the clusters closest to your topic and check each one on SciVerse.
Can I find conferences as well as journals?
Yes. Venue units include journals, conferences, workshops and symposia. On SciVerse, click Conferences for the "Active conferences" list.
Which journals are similar to my target journal?
Ask "Which journals are closest to the one I am targeting?". It builds a Bibliographic Coupling or Co-citation map of venues. Venues next to your target in the same cluster share its literature.
Why is my venue map empty?
Citation, Co-citation and Bibliographic Coupling maps need reference data. Run Fetch reference data once for the project. See Empty maps and reference data.