Hi. We have a case report manuscript that we are ready to submit for publication. Since it's a case report, there aren't many journals where to send it. We are between two journals: a traditional journal in the field that has an impact factor of 2.7, and a Frontiers journal with an impact factor of 4.2.
What do you think it's best in this case? To submit the manuscript to a lower-impact but traditional journal, or to a higher-impact but Frontiers journal?
Thanks for your suggestions!
First, if it's a case report, it still has to be written as if it is an article, so perhaps improve it to article level. Second, Frontiers is open access (and possibly predatory), so you lose copy-write protection compared with traditional journals. Third, definitely publish in the 2.7 IF journal since there is protection and you know for sure they are not predatory since they will be listed on SJR :)
Honestly, I think you should go with what feels right for you. Journals are a dying concept (it is all online, anyways) and impact factors are gerrymandered to the point of meaninglessness. I know that some recruiters look at impact factor for hiring, but I find that to be a sign of caution---you probably don't want to be hired by them.
Of course, this is up to you, but I would go for the journal that you feel like you can support---you are putting your name on their product, and should be able to stand by what they offer. Since you ask, it seems you think there is something "fishy" about Frontiers, so perhaps that's a sign you don't feel like you can get behind what they offer? Seems like a red flag to me.
Dear Renzo C. Lanfranco ,
For me this would be a no-brainer. Since you work at one of the world's foremost universities, I am pretty sure that the APC for the open-access journal is no issue. Frontiers Media SA is a publisher that used to be subjected to some controversy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontiers_Media) but should nowadays be considered a well-reputed publisher fully dedicated to open access publishing.
I have seen too many ‘big’ names that published with them to doubt this one (despite the fact that they are still mentioned in the Beall’s list (https://beallslist.net/), as a matter of fact this is one of the examples where the Beall’s list is wrong).
Personally, I would go for a journal with an impact factor of 4.2 instead of a 2.7 one (although I agree with anyone who question the real meaning of impact factors). There is no reason to doubt the credibility of a Frontiers journal.
Best regards.
PS. If you want to see more about the discussions about Frontiers see for example:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Who_has_experience_with_Frontiers_publishing_and_editorialships
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_have_experience_with_Frontiers_in_Robotics_AI
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Will-it-be-a-good-idea-to-consider-Frontiers-in-Psychology-for-publishing
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