Strategic publishing

Guidelines for publishing in MDPI Journals

First step

Before making any decisions, it is important to prioritize, set your goals and summarize the information provided by the financier. Ask yourself:

What is your most valued audience and who will gain from your research? Determining the present or potential target audience can help to specify goals and develop a plan on how to engage them.
Are you planning on acquiring an academic experience? Will your research affect specific fields or the general public? The potential target audience consists of specialists, researchers from different fields, practitioners, educators, community groups, companies or the general public. Are your goals impressing colleagues, are you looking for future collaboration opportunities, to commercialize or to influence the behaviour of practitioners?
What are your fields disciplinary conventions?
Is your research financing related to the free access requirements? Free access means the research will be available without restrictions for all potential users. It is important to consider the free access options early on, because these can be affected by publisher contracts.
What are your short term and long term career goals?

Resources:

The international non-profit organization EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) has contracts with various companies that offer researchers a significant discount on article processing charges (APCs). The goal of the initiative is to support the researchers of Latvia by offering to publish in free access issues. Based on the contracts, authors from Latvia can publish their research papers in the open access journals or hybrid journals that are listed here: https://www.eifl.net/latvia_apcs

EnagoAcademy - Enago Academy assists early-career researchers overcome challenges in publishing their work in high impact journals, as well as supporting early-stage and experienced researchers in building their research profiles and maximizing opportunities for overall growth.

Research Publication Planner - The University of Bristole example

Publish or Perish: Graduate Students' Guide to Publishing.

Publishing considerations (RMIT University).

Journals

Choosing the right journal is an important step towards reaching the desired target audience. The type of the article that you are planning to publish, the objectives of the potential journals and scope, as well as evidence of the journals legitimacy are to be taken in to account.

Identify the journals that publish in your field of work
Take in consideration the journals you read and cite
Discuss the journals that are read and cited by your colleagues
Research the main databases of your fields.

Journal checker tool

Browse the journal classification based on your topic in Scopus, Journal Citation Reports , Scimago Journal etc.

Test out the journal search tools:

Find open access journals (DOAJ)

Elsevier JournalFinder, provided by Elsevier Fingerprint Engine ™, is a tool that uses a machine learning algorithm to recommend Elsevier journals that match the scope of your manuscript.

By using Manuscript Matcher, find journals that are indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection.

Journal finder Beta (Wiley)

Journal finder JANE (Journa/Author/ Name/ Estimator)

Journal Selection Guidelines (Enago Academy)

Evaluate journals quality, reputation and objective (Library of the University of Sydney):

Source	Evaluation criteria
Journal and publisher websites	Do the peer review processes demonstrate rigor and transparency? The process is generally laid out on the journals’ website. Are the members of the editorial board highly qualified and recognised figures who represent the field broadly? Are contact details for editorial staff readily available? Is the publisher affiliated with professional organisations such as COPE, WAME, or OASPA? Are open access and self-archiving policies clearly stated? Does the journal support multimedia content like video abstract?
Examination of past journal issues	Do the articles meet high-quality standards based on your assessment? Are persistent identifiers like DOIs and ORCIDs included in the articles?
Personal networks	Are your colleagues and supervisors familiar with the journal and its reputation? Have they encountered any unexpected challenges in their interactions with the journal or publisher?
RSU e-journal databases	Is the journal accessible through prominent databases in the field?
Disciplinary lists and journal rankings	If your faculty or school maintains specific journal lists or rankings, is the journal included? Does it have a high ranking in listings based on journal-level citation metrics?

Accepted Manuscript embargo periods. Oxford Academic journals.

Find Embargo Date fir Elsevier Journals. Journal Embargo Finder.

SAGE APCS OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING
When publishing in SAGE journals, RSU authors can choose the open access mode and use discounts for Article Processing Charges (APCS) or publish for free. Video

How to Get Published (SAGE).

SAGE guide: How to get your journal article published.

SAGE webinars: How to get published.

Fundamentals of manuscript preparation (Elsevier).

Open access for authors (British Medical journal).

Books

The choice of the publisher will determine how many people will read the book and whether it will reach the specific target audience.

The type of the book

Conditions for publishing books and book chapters vary widely between industry and career stage. For example, early in one’s career, many industries expect books to be published for an academic audience or in conference proceedings. It is necessary to identify options with respect to the type of publication, the target audience and the publisher, from the very start.

Book writing (Elsevier).

Book Authors and Book Editors (Elsevier).

Book Publication Journey (Springer).

5 Simple steps to publishing a book with Springer.

Open Access Books

Open access books are become more popular. This option can help to reach a wider audience. Before a decision, it is worthwhile to consider how it would be valued in the specific industry.

The most comprehensive resource for finding open access book publishers is Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). DOAB is a community-driven discovery service that indexes and provides access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books and helps users to find trusted open access book publishers. All DOAB services are free of charge and all data is freely available. Publishers on this list are subject to peer review process and licensing policies. (OAPEN, 2023).

Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEN) compiles a list of publishers that are eligible for European research funders, at the moment these are European Research Council (ERC), Wellcome, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The list aims to inform the authors of eligible open access publishers. (OAPEN, 2023).

Another way to find publishers is to search open access book platforms, for example, OAPEN, OpenEdition, Project Muse, JSTOR, ORL, MDPI u.c.

Publish open access with Springer.

Open access books & chapters (Springer Nature).

Publish an open access book (Emerald).

Publication of the thesis in the form of a book

It will take considerable effort to publish your dissertation in the form of a book. Publishers will expect it to be rewritten and adapted for the new target audience. This means, that to some extent, the author will have to start writing from scratch. This also applies to headings, chapter titles, and even references. The book will be much more readable and personal than the thesis, and the most important pieces of information will be highlighted and supplemented.

Converting your PhD Thesis into a Book in Five Steps (Elsevier).

Turning your PhD into a successful book (Taylor & Francis).

Publish your thesis as a book (Springer Nature).

Publishers

Consider the book type, the target audience, and the style or format appropriate to the type of book to be published. Find a publisher that publishes the same type of books. It is worth researching publishers that publish these types of books in a particular subject area or book series. If the book could be of interest to a wider target audience, then publishing houses that publish interdisciplinary books can be considered.

Consider the following aspects when evaluating publishers:

The influence of the publishing house in the specific industry. The same publishing houses may be evaluated differently in different industries, so it is worth consulting with colleagues and supervisors.
Review criteria. Scientific works must undergo thorough review process. The review procedure should be detailed on the publishers' home page.
Book review. In some industries, book reviews are published in journals or consulted by influential publications.
Availability of the book. Check that the books are clearly listed and easy to find on the open access publisher's home page, and try searching for the publisher's books on the web to see how high they appear in search results. Are the publisher's books widely available in stores and libraries? Are they included in major open access platforms like OAPEN and DOAB? Check library catalogs as well as online book retailers.
Fee. Publishers charge a Book Processing Charge (BPC) when they publish an Open Access book. If the publisher charges a fee, check that the costs and services they cover are transparent. Some publishers may offer royalties for the sale of open access books in print.
Offers to publish for a fee or without any edits. These are indicators of fake publishers.
Publishing eBooks and DOIs. In some cases, electronic books may be used more, and DOIs help to share and track the use of the work.
Copyright and Re-use Rights. Many publishers do not require you to sign copyright or certain reuse rights for open access books, allowing the researcher and others to share and reuse the work.
Format. Some publishers produce only the open access PDF (Portable Document Format) version of the book. Others produce Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML) formats that are easier to search and reuse. Publishers can also offer the EPUB format, which is compatible with most e-readers, and work with Amazon to provide the AZW3 format for Amazon e-readers. Many open access publishers sell a print version in addition to the digital version.
Licensing. Any open access book must have an open license. Check that the publisher has explained the licensing options and that you have chosen the right license for your work.
Embargo period. Some publishers may not publish an edition of an open access book until the edition has been in circulation for some time. Other publishers publish an open access edition immediately (OAPEN, 2023).

Developing a clear concept of what publishers expect from an author can help in making a decision. Find out if you need to do the editing yourself or if you will have to pay for it. This could include editing the final manuscript, pagination according to the publisher's manual, creating an index.

This and other information may be available in the "For Authors" section of publishers' home pages.

Conferences

Information will be updated!

Predatory Journals

When choosing journals for publishing your research, it's important to avoid predatory journals.

Predatory Journals are listed in the Bell`s List

The following criteria testifies to predatory journals:

The article processing charge (APC) is either unusually high or suspiciously low;
The review process is insufficient or not provided at all;
The opt-out policy is not well explained;
The publication timeline seems unreasonably fast;
The journal provides false or misleading metrics, such as the Impact Factor;
You receive invitations to publish in a journal or become an editor presented in an intrusive manner;
Submissions are requested via unprofessional email domains (e.g., not using the official domain of the journal or publisher).

Elmore SA, Weston EH. Predatory Journals: What They Are and How to Avoid Them. Toxicol Pathol. 2020 Jun;48(4):607-610. doi: 10.1177/0192623320920209. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Grudniewicz, A., Moher, D., Cobey, K. D., Bryson, G. L. at all. 2019. Predatory journals: no definition, no defence. Nature. 579. 210-212.

Eriksson, S., & Helgesson, G. (2017). The false academy: predatory publishing in science and bioethics. Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 20(2), 163–170.

Make your research discoverable

Optimize metadata
Good metadata descriptions are crucial to getting your work to the top of search results. Metadata is descriptive and contextual information about your data. It includes information such as title, author names and affiliations, publication date, and subject keywords. High-quality metadata allows people to reuse material and build on your work.

You can improve the quality of job-related metadata:

Provide publishers with your unique ORCID so they can be accurately identified so you can be listed with your name.
When providing author keywords , include as many relevant terms as possible and consider both general and specialized vocabulary, as well as language variations and wording.
Describe sufficient datasets for reuse.

Use DOI when linking your work online

DOI (Digital Object Identifier) eliminates the problem of broken links. Most journal publishers and many other publishers assign DOIs to articles, e-books, book chapters, and other digital documents. However, it's a good idea to check with the publisher to see if they can provide a DOI, as this is not always the case. Publisher-provided DOIs can help improve search results as well as facilitate tracking of work results.

Offer effective titles and summaries

Mārtinsone, K. un Pipere, A. (red.) 2019. Zinātniskā rakstīšana un pētījumu rezultātu izplatīšana. Rīga: RSU.

Tullu, M. S. 2019. Writing the title and abstract for a research paper: Being concise, precise, and meticulous is the key. Saudi journal of anaesthesia. 13(Suppl 1), S12–S17. doi: 10.4103/sja.SJA_685_18

Writing titles and abstracts. The importance of writing a good title and abstract. BMC.

Springer example:

1. Too many unnecessary words - Does Vaccinating Children and Adolescents with Inactivated Influenza Virus Inhibit the Spread of Influenza in Unimmunized Residents of Rural Communities?

2. The title doesn't give enough information about what makes the manuscript interesting - Influenza Vaccination of Children: A Randomized Trial.

3. Effective name. It is short, easy to understand and provides important aspects about the study - Effect of Child Influenza Vaccination on Infection Rates in Rural Communities: A Randomized Trial.

Make additional materials available

Making additional data sets, images, tools, or resources available to your audience can have a significant impact on the impact of a researcher's work. Materials may also include presentations, video or audio files. The researcher may be able to include the material in their paper or primary release, or the publisher may be able to make the material available on their website. Repositories can also be an option, and some publishers recommend using certain repositories. This creates another opportunity for your audience to find and engage with your work and increases reusability.

Sharing

Researcher profile: See section - Communication - Researcher profile
Online databases: See section - Find information and data - R esources
Specific audience: Information will be updated!

Evaluation

Metrics: See section - Measure impact - Citation metrics
Altmetrics: See section - Measure impact - Altmetrics