How do I narrow down journals to publish a literature review?
My supervisor wants me to identify potential journals to publish my review article, however, there is so many options that I am finding it hard to narrow it down. Most of the online guidelines seem to be for results based research.
It's the first piece of work I have ever attempted to get published and whilst I'd love impact papers, realistically its not nature material.
I want to chose somewhere that I have a good chance of being accepted.
Hi Kristie - due to the 'publish or perish' phenomenon, there is a lot of pressure on supervisors to expose their students to early exposure of the publication process - as well as the benefit to the supervisor as well. As an integrative review of the literature is one of the first phases of a study thesis - it's a natural place to start. However, many journals do not accept literature reviews anymore as they may prefer primary, empirical studies. Others might accept reviews - but there are different levels of reviews. The more rigorous and structured a review is - the more likely it is to be accepted.
So there is a 'standard' literature review, an integrative review, a systematic review (which is controversial due to interpretation and interchangeability of terms i.e. a meta-analysis-based systematic review versus a 'structured' literature review - which may be very similar to an integrative review), meta-synthesis, concept analysis, discourse analysis etc. The two attached chapters, while nursing and midwifery-focused, might assist. The principles are generic for understanding different types of reviews and tips for publishing.
The best strategy is to find your target journals and then search the scope of the journal which often identifies what type of submissions they prefer - and look to recent copy to see if they have accepted reviews.
Choosing a journal to submit a literature review for publishing will be according to the scope of your study, for example:
Nature Reviews Genetics
Nature Reviews Immunology
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Annual Review of Immunology
Annual Review of Biochemistry
Chemical Reviews
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Good Luck
Some good thoughts already in replies. Kirstie think about WHY you want to get an article published. One reason may be to highlight your abilities towards future employment - thus one consideration is to publish in a journal that is read by those people you would expect to work with later. In some fields it is easier to get published in a journal read by practitioners (users of the research findings) then a journal aimed at research scientists in a lab examining novel directions.
The style of your review also matters. Dean has described some different types. Think about engaging your readers. I have done Cochrane systematic reviews which are required to have a clear question - what is the evidence for doing A versus B among people with condition X etc. Answering a question helps keep the review focused, and in a post-grad project (which your may be) or seeking funding, the review often concludes that there is an evidence gap and thus your proposed research is needed. Unfortunately sometimes reviews are published (and theses written) that are really only a summary of the findings of the papers that the person read with no focus or analysis. Good luck.
I am dealing with the exactly same situation. Although the quality if the journal is important at the same time getting accepted is a major concern. Although i have confidence in my manuscript a lot of journals I am finding suitable has a publication fee associated which is a lot and I do not have funding source for that.
Presentation How to Select a Trusted Journal, by: Asst. Prof. Dr. Emad K....
Presentation How to publish paper?
Regards,
Emad
In selecting appropriate journals for literature review, the following questions can provide clear guidelines for this endevour.
1. Who are the authors?
Check whether the authors are real experts, and determine whether the material is a fact, interpretation, imagination, or simply opinion. Verify the facts with other sources to see how accurate or how trustworthy the source is. If available, author impact factors such as the h-index or the g-index are good indices to assess the scientific value of a given author.
2. Who are the publishers?
Well-known national and international publishers, especially, those affiliated to reputed universities and those who have a long tradition of publishing are likely to be more reliable because they have reputations to uphold. Most established publishers have expert editors and have a peer review system to upkeep the quality of their products.
3. Consider the impact factor or rating
The first thing you have to confirm is whether the journal is following a peer reviewing system. Peer reviewed journals are assessed based on their impact factor or a rating system. A journal with high impact factor is supposed to be of good quality and standard.
4. Identify the purpose of the publication
Before you start taking notes, think for a while, and identify why and for whom the material was written. You will be able to understand easily, if it is a propaganda material. The significance of the article or book must be clearly established.
5. The subject matter coverage
Read the material critically and find out the focal point of the article. The findings, discussions, and conclusions must be logically arranged.
6. The treatment given to the content
Try to find out the theoretical perspective of the author, and check whether this differs from the current understanding prevalent among the research workers about the topic. Check whether the author has included any literature taking positions s/he does not agree with.
7. The structure followed
The article should evaluate the designs and methodological issues sufficiently well. Conflicting and complementary ideas should be presented and discussed. There must be an objective basis to the reasoning.
8. Avoid biased sources
Avoid sources that appear biased such as those from lobbyists and advocacy groups, which tend to present only evidences that support one interpretation. Beware of sources that depend upon logical fallacies or false arguments that tend to divert or mislead readers instead of material evidence or logical reasoning.
9. Consider timeliness of publications
Current literature, including those published recently, is likely to be more reliable and convincing than older sources.
10. Maintain extra vigil on electronic sources
You may come across innumerable web based resources, which are relatively easy to access. Online journals must have ISSN, DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and impact factor.. In any case, avoid predatory journals. Consult the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) for reputed open access, peer-reviewed journals.
The questions stated above provide a starting point to select appropriate literature review for a study.However, it is important to consider other important requirements as well.
I have a similar dilemma. We conducted an integrative research review (IRR) and everyone wants me to submit a PRISMA and use EQUATOR. We found vey interesting and important findings through a thorough search without many limitations to inform an answer to our clinical question. I have been turned down by four journals now and keep getting feedback appropriate for a systematic review, but not a IRR. These direct care nurses did a lot of work side by side with doctorally prepared nurses to not be able to disseminate our amazing findings.
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