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Finding the Right Journal and Conference to

Showcase Your Research

Gina Karlin

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Introduction

New Jersey, USA, currently based in Jakarta
Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, UAE, Indonesia
Higher education & adult education contexts

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Objectives

Overview of aspects impacting the publishing landscape
Understand research(ing) in the globalized world
Understand factors to consider when choosing a journal or conference

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What is your publication goal(s) for 2024?

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List any challenges or barriers you experience when choosing journals to showcase your research.

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Aspects impacting publishing in recent years

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Discourses and debates to consider when publishing

Neoliberalism in academic publishing

English as a language of publication

Publishing in the Global South vs. Global North

Publish or perish, rat race to publish

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Neoliberalism in Academic Publishing (Collyer, 2016)

Privatization of publishing (e.g., development of private, profit-driven publishing companies)
Commercialization/commodification of knowledge (e.g., scholarly works treated as marketable products, high subscription costs or paywalls)
Rise of corporate publishers creates a monopolization in academic publishing, control a large share of academic journals
Emphasis on market-driven metrics (e.g., journal metrics) in evaluating academic research results in pressure to publish in high-impact journals to secure funding and career advancement

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Global spread of English

Due to globalization or internationalization

English-medium instruction in education in countries where English is not widely used (e.g., China, South Korea)
Publishing in top notch international (i.e., English-language) journals
“monolingualism in international journals” (O’Neil, 2018)

Kachru, 1985

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Dominance of the Global North in academic publishing

See SJR rankings:

https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php

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Dominance of the Global North in academic publishing

“Papers not found in the indexes are assumed to be of lesser quality, and largely overlooked.” (Collyer, 2016, p. 66).

Creates a bias in favor of research from the Global North in prestigious international journals

Limited access to high-impact journals due to subscription costs
Challenges in securing funding compared to researchers from Northern institutions
Dominance of Northern perspectives tends to influence the studies, topics and research questions that are considered important
Dependence on Global North frameworks (e.g., methodologies commonly used in the Global North) (Collyer, 2016)

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Increase of research in the Global South

Global South Perspectives (e.g., increase in regional academic journals, conferences, and networks)
Open Access Initiatives (e.g enhance visibility for scholars from the Global South and promote the dissemination of diverse perspectives)
Collaborative Research (e.g., projects between institutions in the Global North and South can foster a more inclusive and equitable academic environment)
Alternative Publishing Models: Some initiatives explore alternative publishing models that prioritize inclusivity (e.g., regionally-focused publishing platforms)

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“The wheel of power”: a framework for understanding the Anglophone debates and the contemporary academic rat race (Paasi, 2015)

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“The wheel of power” (Paasi, 2015)

“Researchers are not merely passive victims or compliant subjects...they may develop various strategies to operate under the new market‐like conditions or to resist them.” (Paasi, 2015, pg. 511)

Question for Discussion and Reflection:

Have you experienced the influences of these factors listed in this framework?
Among the issues and factors in this framework, which one(s) do you think are more significant in the current academia and why?

Try give some specific examples to a partner.

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Journal Selection

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Clearly understand the scope and focus of your research.
Identify the main subject area, key findings, and the target audience for your paper.
Look for articles similar to your research in terms of topic, methodology, and scope.
Identify journals that frequently publish papers in your field of study.

Understand Your Research

&

Review Similar Articles

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Can tailor your work to build on research that’s already been published in that journal
Editors see how a paper adds to the journal
Help meet specific manuscript formats of article
Use a Journal Finder

Choosing a Journal before Writing

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Understand the audience

Do you want to publish in a general-interest journal, where it can reach a wide readership?
Will you publish in a specialist journal?
Do you want to publish your work in an international journal, or in a specific region?
Do you want to publish your work in an open access?

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Peer-review policies
Submission process
Editorial policies (e.g., affiliations, citations, authorship, plagiarism, ethics, standards of reporting, etc.)

Are happy for your work to be reviewed in this way?

Review the journal’s policies and procedures

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Relevant journal metrics

Usage(e.g.,viewed/download)
Citation metrics
Impact Factors (e.g., 2-year, Best Quartile, 5-Year Impact Factor, CiteScore, Scimago Journal Rank (SJR), etc.)

3. Speed metrics (e.g., how long different stages of the publishing process might take.)

submission to first decision
submission to first post-review decision
acceptance to online publication

4. Acceptance rate

Understand how the journal’s performance is measured

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Example

(source: Taylor & Francis)

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Metrics should not be considered in isolation
Consider qualitative aspects (e.g., aims & scope, readership, and the material it publishes).

Limitations of Journal Metrics

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Scan the code for the Sage Journal Finder
Explore a discipline and select a subject area to find recommended journals.
Select a possible journal, find journal metrics, description, audience, etc.
Discuss findings or insights with a partner or in groups.

Scan Code

Journal Finder Activity

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List prominent researchers on their editorial boards without their knowledge or consent.
Poorly designed websites, lack clear editorial policies, and contain grammatical errors
Falsely claim to have high Impact Factors or cite irrelevant metrics
Lack of rigorous peer review process
Unverified or non-existent contact information
High article processing fees without providing the expected editorial services or quality of publication

Characteristics of Predatory Academic Journals

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Conference Selection

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Have you presented at a conference in your field?

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Click Present with Slido or install our Chrome extension to activate this poll while presenting.

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List any challenges or barriers you experience when choosing a conference to showcase your research.

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National
Regional (e.g., Southeast Asian)
International
Discipline-specific
Interdisciplinary
Conferences organized by professional associations
Virtual, Hybrid

Types of Conferences Opportunities

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Essential component of academic and professional development
Present research
Receive feedback
Learn from peers
Network and connect with the scholarly community

Importance of Conferences

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Find the key conferences in your field (nationally and internationally, in-person or online)
Think about who attends these conferences & number of participants

Common questions:

How likely is it that a proposal or paper might get accepted for the conference?
How is the conference viewed by your colleagues or peers?
Will conference papers be published in proceedings afterwards?
Are paper submissions peer reviewed?

Evaluating Conferences

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Predatory Conferences

High registration fees
No academic rigor in the peer review process (or use no peer review) to organize conferences
Poor English in the email
Promise for fast publication or publication in a journal
Invited as a speaker or session chair by someone you don’t know at all

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Final Thoughts

Have realistic goals
Understand the process is time consuming
Understand the nuances of the publication or conference
Reach out to colleagues and mentors for feedback and guidance
Accept rejection, constructive feedback for improvement

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Explore More

Useful Sites & Tools

Journal & Rankings

https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php

Popular Journal Finders

Other resources

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Questions

Presentation Link Scan

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References

Collyer, F. (2016). Global patterns in the publishing of academic knowledge: Global North, global South. Current Sociology. 66. 10.1177/0011392116680020

Kachru, B. (1985). Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk and H. Widowson (Eds.), English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures (p. 11-36). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

O’Neil (2018). English as the lingua franca of international publishing. World Englishes, 37(2), 146-165. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12293

Paasi, A. (2015). Academic Capitalism and the Geopolitics of Knowledge. In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Geography (eds J. Agnew, V. Mamadouh, A.J. Secor and J. Sharp). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118725771.ch37