Publishing Strategy
GETTING PUBLISHED

Scholarly publishing of your research findings has professional and institutional implications.

Professional

  • Increases the visibility of your research and raises your Research Profile.
  • Is a consideration when applying for Grants, or Academic Promotions

Institutional

  • The choices you make about where you submit your research for publication may enhance your long-term academic reputation.
  • Submit your work for publication to reputable, peer-reviewed, academic journals or conferences which target the audience of your research.
  • Assess all options for publication of your and pursue those which are most beneficial to your academic reputation.
  • A good place to seek advice is through your informal networks i.e., your supervisor/s, research colleagues, and members of learned societies.

When publishing your work, you will need an overview of the following:

  • Publication ethics: The Committee on Publication Ethics and their Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers provides criteria to assess the bona fides of scholarly open-access publishers and journal titles.
  • Research integrity: Western Sydney University is committed to the highest standards of integrity in conducting research. The University provides resources, advice and assistance to researchers navigating the structured aspects of governance and compliance that are necessarily also part of conducting ethical research.
  • Excellence for Research in Australia (ERA) evaluates performance within each discipline at each university and gives us a detailed view of the research landscape in Australia.
PLANNING YOUR PUBLISHING STRATEGY

Process Summary

Target your audienceChoose where to publishPublish your researchIncrease your visibilityTrack your research impact
Image Source: Getting published, the University of Otago Library.

  • Plan your project and its outcomes - how many papers are you aiming to write and in what time frame?
  • Set realistic expectations and define the boundaries of what is possible and desirable to achieve
  • Identify the right journal for your paper and determine your target audience
  • Amplify the impact of your research
  • What are the funder’s requirements
  • A balanced publishing strategy

Engagement and Impact Framework
Source: Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and Engagement and Impact (EI) 2018 Outcomes

TYPES OF PUBLISHING

Open Access versus the traditional model of publishing

Open Access is a publishing route offered at Western Sydney University and when compared to the traditional model of publishing route, it means that Open Access publishing is at no cost to the reader and lowers costs for the university.

Using traditional academic publishers (Pay to access)

Under the traditional publishing model:

  • Readers (institutions/individuals) pay an annual subscription to access.
  • Authors are often not charged to publish in traditional journals.
  • Research is locked behind a paywall.
  • May have a publisher embargo.

Book Publishing

  • The academic book publishing arena is rapidly changing and the high cost of producing a hardcover book has made it increasingly difficult for researchers to secure publishing contracts with reputable publishers.
  • This has led to a rise in the number of vanity publishers.
  • Publications with most of these companies are not eligible for Excellence for Research in Australia (ERA) reporting and should be avoided.
  • A full list of eligibility criteria for books and book chapters can be found in the ERA 2023 Submission Guidelines.

Journal Publishing

Journal Section Strategies: Open Source

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

An authoritative list of legitimate open access publications.
Compare up to 10 Scopus journals on a variety of parameters.

Think Check Submit

An easy-to-use checklist that researchers can refer to when they are investigating whether a journal can be trusted.
Does the journal include your subject area? Review the description in Ulrichsweb: Global Serials Directory.

Journal Section Strategies: Traditional

There are only two key citation tools available Worldwide. Quality can be indicated if you can locate the journal title in Web of Science or Scopus.

Elsevier Journal Finder

Locates Elsevier journals that are best suited to your article's title and abstract.

Journal Citation Reports

The only authoritative source of journal impact factor data.

Scopus Compare Journals Tool

Further Reading
Why you need a publishing strategy | Anne-Wil Harzing 
The four P's of Publishing | Anne-Wil Harzing  
The four C's of getting Cited | Anne-Wil Harzing

Conferences

Consult this checklist before submitting a conference paper.

Recommended resource: Think, Check, Attend
Think check attend
Think, Check, Attend: Choosing the right conference to attend and present your research is an international initiative introduced by Knowledge E, which aims to guide and assist researchers and scholars to judge the legitimacy and quality of conferences and make strategic decisions on which conference to attend and present.