Publishing is how your research becomes visible, discoverable, and available for others to read, use, evaluate, and build upon.

You may choose to publish through journals, conferences, books, non-traditional research outputs, datasets and other forms of scholarly communication. Each publishing pathway offers different opportunities and involves different considerations. The most appropriate choice will depend on your research, your intended audience, disciplinary expectations, funder requirements, and publishing goals.

Whether you are preparing your first publication or refining an established publishing strategy, planning your approach can help you make informed decisions and maximise the accessibility, visibility, and value of your research.

Start with a clear pathway

It is easier to make publishing decisions when you start with your purpose, audience, output type, timeframe, and requirements. Begin with a publishing plan, then follow the pathway that best matches your research output.

Plan Your Research

Clarify your publishing goals and requirements before choosing a journal, conference, outlet, or book publisher.

Why plan early?

A publishing plan can help you avoid delays, unexpected costs, missed open access opportunities and submission problems. It also provides a consistent basis for comparing publishing options.

What to consider

Identify the type of research output you are preparing, its purpose, your intended audience, and your publishing timeframe. Confirm each author’s role, order, affiliation and ORCID iD.

Identify any potential publication costs and check whether third-party content requires permission. Plan how related datasets, code, supplementary files or other outputs will be shared and cited.

Check whether your funder has requirements that affect how or where you publish, including open access requirements. For example, researchers funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) should check the ARC open access policy.

Higher Degree Research candidates

Consider any Higher Degree Research candidature timing, funding conditions, ethics approvals, research data obligations, and institutional requirements, including the Western Sydney University Open Access to Research Policy.

Plan early if you may be eligible to publish through a Read & Publish agreement. Eligibility can depend on your current Western Sydney University affiliation, author role, article type and publisher requirements. Use your Western Sydney University student email address while it remains active and seek advice before submission if conferral timing may affect eligibility.

Use the Planning Worksheet

Complete the planning worksheet in the Develop a Publishing Plan guide to record your audience, responsibilities, data, rights, costs, open access and repository considerations.

Next step

  • Develop a Publishing Plan Guide
Choose Your Outlet

Publish in a journal

Build a shortlist of suitable journals that align with your manuscript, audience, discipline, and research goals. Check fit and credibility then rank them by fit.

Start with journal suitability

A Read & Publish agreement may support open access publishing, but it should not be the main reason for choosing a journal. First identify journals that are suitable for your work, then check whether an agreement or another open publishing pathway applies.

Build a longlist

Gather potentially suitable journals connected to your research, including journals cited in your reference list, outlets used by leading scholars in your field and recommendations from supervisors or colleagues. Use journal finder tools, indexing databases and publisher information to expand your options.

Build a shortlist

Review each journal’s aims and scope, recent articles, audience, accepted article types, peer review process, indexing, publication timeframes, author rights, licence options and charges. Use journal metrics or discipline-specific ratings only where relevant and interpret them in context.

Use Think. Check. Submit. For journals. to assess whether a journal is transparent and trustworthy. Consult Ulrichsweb (WSU login required) to check whether it is listed as peer-reviewed (refereed) and review its publisher details and indexing coverage.

Compare three to five journals against your topic, methodology, article type, intended audience, publishing timeframe, research goals and open access requirements to build your shortlist. Then rank them in order of suitability to identify your first choice and backup journals.

Be cautious of unrealistic publication promises, unclear peer review, hidden fees, misleading indexing claims or repeated or generic invitations to submit.

Pre-submission enquiry

If you are unsure whether a journal is suitable for your research, discuss with your supervisor whether to send a pre-submission enquiry to the journal editor. This can help you gauge the journal’s interest in your manuscript before submitting it.

Use the subject guide

Use the Journal Selection Tool and detailed guidance in the Publish Your Research guide to build, assess and rank your shortlist.

Present in a conference

Choose a conference that connects your research with the right audience and supports its visibility, credibility, preservation and longer-term value, connects your research with the right audience and supports its visibility, credibility, preservation and longer-term value.

Find and assess a conference

Check that the conference theme, scope, audience, organisers, sponsors and venue align with your research and has an appropriate standing in your field. Review whether the abstract, paper or both will be peer reviewed and what type of paper will be published, for example, abstracts, full papers, peer-reviewed proceedings or journal special issues or collections. Also check if the proceedings are indexed, whether a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is assigned and what copyright and licence conditions apply.

Confirm how the work will be presented and published, whether proceedings include full papers or abstracts, whether they are indexed and what copyright and licence conditions apply. Consider registration, travel, accommodation, and available School, Institute or research centre funding.

Use Think. Check. Attend. to assess the event before submitting or registering.

Where relevant to your discipline, consult the CORE Rankings Portal.

Plan for visibility and preservation

Keep records that document your participation and any resulting publications, such as the program, acceptance correspondence, presentation materials, proceedings or DOI.

Where eligible, record the resulting research output in Research Profiles and Repository.

Publish a non-traditional research output (NTRO)

Choose a publication or dissemination pathway that suits the output, audience, discipline and purpose of your research.

Select an outlet for a NTRO

NTRO may include:

  • original creative works
  • live performance of creative works
  • recorded/rendered creative works
  • curated or produced substantial public exhibitions and events
  • research reports for an external body.

NTRO opportunities often arise organically, including through invitations or offers to present or perform. When assessing an opportunity, consider the standing of the organisation, venue, commissioner, or platform among peers and your intended audiences, alongside any documentation or evidence of reach or engagement that may be available, such as attendance, downloads, website visits, reviews, catalogues, recordings, photography or media coverage.

Document and preserve the output

Keep appropriate documentation of the output and its research contribution so that it can be reported, preserved, discovered and, where possible, accessed.

Include descriptive information that explains the research context, significance and your contribution. Depending on the output, supporting documentation may include photographs, recordings, exhibition catalogues, programs, reviews or other evidence of the work and its public presentation.

Some eligible research materials, including digital research reports and other eligible grey literature, may be assigned a Digital Object Identifier through Western Sydney University. Check the Digital Object Identifier eligibility requirements before applying.

Confirm that you have the necessary rights and permissions to reproduce, document, preserve and share the output and any third-party content it contains.

Consider copyright, moral rights, performer rights, acknowledgements, access restrictions, contractual arrangements and any applicable funder or institutional open access requirements.

See Western Sydney University Library guidance on copyright.

Publish a book or book chapter

Choose a publisher that can reach the right readers, support the quality and integrity of your work, and make the book discoverable, accessible and usable.

Start with audience and purpose

Identify whether your primary readers are researchers, professionals, practitioners, students or the wider public. Consider whether the project is best suited to a scholarly monograph, edited collection, textbook, professional book, crossover title, trade book or open scholarly work.

Prepare a strong proposal

Follow each publisher’s proposal requirements. A scholarly proposal commonly explains the book’s purpose, audience, contribution, structure, competing titles and market and may include sample chapters. Trade publishers may require submissions through a literary agent.

Evaluate potential publishers

Review subject areas, recent titles, peer review and editorial processes, reputation, distribution, pricing, discoverability, formats, preservation, publication timeframes, rights, royalties, open access options, and fees. Clarify who will provide copyediting, proofreading, indexing, design, permissions support, marketing and production.

Assess distribution through Western Sydney University Library catalogue, Trove, and WorldCat.

Use Think. Check. Submit. checklist for books and chapters to assess publisher credibility.

Confirm with the publisher whether they assign the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or both.

Compare publishing pathways

Open access book publishing

Open access can extend a book’s reach beyond readers with library or purchasing access. Compare peer review, Creative Commons licence options, fees, production support, distribution, preservation and print availability.

Browse peer-reviewed open access books through the Directory of Open Access Books.

Western Open Books

Eligible Western Sydney University authors may consider publishing open textbooks and open scholarly works with the Library and Western Open Books.

Commercial scholarly publishing

Commercial scholarly publishers may suit monographs, collections, textbooks, professional books, and works intended for academic or broader markets. Western Sydney University does not operate a commercial scholarly publishing pathway.

Publishing a thesis as a book

A thesis generally requires substantial revision before book publication. Reshape the structure and argument for a defined audience, remove examination-focused material, update the literature, reconsider quotations, images and other third-party content. Further guidance is available from How to turn your PhD into a book, (The Thesis Whisperer), Eight Tips for Turning Your PhD Thesis into a Book (Sydney University Press),https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book-authors/your-career/early-career-researcher-hub/revising-the-dissertation Reworking your thesis for book publication (AIATSIS), and How to revise your thesis into a book (Springer Nature).

Before you commit

Compare several publishers and review the contract carefully. Confirm services, retained rights, formats, territories, royalties, licence conditions, permissions, deadlines, publication schedule and arrangements if the book becomes unavailable. Check whether an eligible version may be shared through Research Profiles and Repository.

Submit Your Research

Prepare and submit your manuscript carefully so that it meets the journal’s requirements and accurately records author details, rights, research data information, funding and ethics declarations and open access choices.

Review the submission requirements

Check the journal’s instructions for authors and confirm the required article type, structure, formatting, referencing style, file formats, word limits, and supplementary materials. Check whether the journal requires a separate title page, figures, tables, highlights, keywords, graphical abstracts, reporting checklists or anonymised files for peer review.

Confirm author and research details

Check each author’s name, author order, affiliation, corresponding author details, institutional email address, and ORCID iD. Confirm that all authors have approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.

Include all required funding, ethics, competing interests, acknowledgements, author contribution and data availability statements. Cite any supporting datasets and include their Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), where relevant.

Confirm that you have permission to reproduce any third-party images, figures, tables, questionnaires or other copyright material. Check that all sources are appropriately cited and that the manuscript meets the journal’s originality and simultaneous submission requirements.

Prepare the submission files

Complete a final proofread and check that all files are clearly named, complete, and uploaded in the correct format. Confirm whether the journal requires suggested or excluded peer reviewers, declarations, reporting guidelines or additional submission forms.

If your manuscript is rejected

Review the editor and peer reviewer comments, revise the manuscript where appropriate, and return to your journal shortlist. Select the next most suitable journal, review its submission requirements and reformat the manuscript before resubmitting.

Next step

  • Share Your Research
Share Your Research

Make your research easier to discover, access, understand, and use while meeting publisher, copyright, ethical, cultural, privacy, legal, security and commercial requirements.

Check what you can share

Review the publishing agreement to confirm which version may be shared, where it may be deposited, whether an embargo applies and what licence, acknowledgement and reuse conditions apply. Do not share the Version of Record (publisher version) unless the publisher or licence permits it.

Use the Open policy finder as a starting point then confirm the conditions in your publishing agreement.

Recognise manuscript types

The following guide explains which manuscript versions you may be able to share and when.

  • Author’s Original Manuscript (AoM) (preprint)

    The author’s original manuscript (AoM) is the first complete draft before formal peer review and the version submitted by the author. It may be shared where the journal’s policy permits.

  • Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) (postprint)

    The author accepted manuscript (AAM) is the final peer-reviewed author-created version accepted for publication. It does not include the publisher’s copyediting, typesetting, branding, pagination, or layout. It can be deposited in the Research Profiles and Repository and is subject to embargo and publisher policy.

  • Version of Record (VoR) (publisher version)

    The version of record (VoR) is the copyedited, typeset, branded version published by the journal. Link to the published article. Upload it to a repository only if the licence or publisher policy permits.

    Important: Remember to check the journal, publisher, and funder policies before sharing. When available, deposit the author accepted manuscript (AAM) and link to the version of record (VoR).

Check your output in Research Profiles and Repository

Check that your research output appears in Research Profiles and Repository with accurate author, affiliation, funding, publisher, licence, embargo and Digital Object Identifier (DOI) details. Where the output has not been collected automatically, submit it to the repository.

Where the VoR cannot be made openly available, provide the most complete eligible manuscript version you hold, usually the AAM.

See the Research Outputs Repository Guidelines

Where permitted, deposit or describe supporting data, code, protocols, instruments, supplementary files and other materials. Link related outputs using persistent identifiers.

Only share content where sharing is permitted by participant consent, ethics approvals, Indigenous data governance, privacy, contracts, security, copyright and other requirements. Where open access is not possible, consider a metadata-only record or controlled access.

See Publishing Research Data and Research Data Management guidance.

Confirm reuse conditions

State clearly how the work may be reused. Confirm that you have authority to apply a Creative Commons licence and identify third-party content excluded from that licence.

See Creative Commons licences and Western Sydney University copyright guidance.

Reach your audience responsibly

Identify who could benefit from the research, prepare a clear plain-language message and choose suitable formats and channels. Use consistent author details, ORCID iDs, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), keywords and links to related outputs.

Refer to the Publish Your Research guide and Nature Masterclasses Online to plan engagement and communication.

Next step

  • Track Your Research
Track Your Research

Keep your publication records and researcher profiles accurate, and monitor how your research is being discovered, accessed, cited and discussed.

Keep profiles and records current

Check your ORCID record, Research Profiles and Repository profile, Scopus Author Profile, Web of Science Researcher Profile, and Google Scholar profile. Add missing records, and correct duplicate or incorrectly attributed records where possible.

Confirm that publication and dataset records include accurate Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), repository links, affiliations and open access status.

Check that your research is accessible

Test the publication link from outside University systems and confirm that the correct version is openly accessible where permitted. Check that any embargo date, licence, repository link and DOI are recorded correctly. If the full text cannot be made openly available, ensure that an accurate metadata record and link to the publication are available.

Monitor appropriate indicators

Depending on the output and platform, choose the appropriate indicators which may be citations, field-weighted citation performance, journal indicators, downloads, views, dataset citations, online attention, collaboration and geographic reach.

Interpret metrics in context. No single metric should be used on its own to assess the quality or value of a research output.

Keep a record of the evidence

Record relevant publication details, identifiers, licences, repository records, indicators, the platform used, the date checked and the context needed for interpretation.

Track developments in your field

Set up alerts in relevant databases, journals, researcher profiles, and citation tools. Alerts can help you follow new research, citations, authors, topics, collaborators and opportunities to build on or promote your work.

Next step

Tracking your research helps you understand what is reaching audiences, where your work is being used or cited and what could be improved.

Use what you learn from tracking your research to refine your publishing approach and plan your next research output.

  • Develop a Publishing Plan

Use the Publish Your Research guide

The Publish Your Research guide provides practical tools, guidance, examples and planning suggestions for each stage.

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