Submitting an article? Think. Check. Submit.

As a researcher, how do you evaluate whether the journal you’re about to send your work to is the real deal? The answer could lie in Think. Check. Submit., an initiative from a coalition of scholarly communications organizations. The Think. Check. Submit. tools help to make the process of choosing the right journal for your work simpler.

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With hundreds of new academic titles launched every year, deciding whether or not a journal is worthy of your work is increasingly difficult. Having more choice is generally a good thing, but the profusion of new titles has also led to a rise in what some refer to as ‘predatory publishing’.

Put simply, ‘predatory’ journals trade, intentionally and fraudulently, off existing society or journal names. Authors send their work and, in some cases, pay publication fees to these titles in good faith – only to discover that their research hasn’t appeared in the title they thought it would.

The Think. Check. Submit. campaign empowers authors to evaluate the trustworthiness of a journal or its publisher. By using the simple checklist provided on the Think. Check. Submit. website, authors can make an informed choice before sending their articles for review.

The checklist includes ways to evaluate the credentials of any title and the society or publisher behind it. It doesn’t offer a definitive list of ‘approved’ titles, but it is another important resource that authors can draw on – as well as their colleagues and information specialists – to make sure the research they publish has maximum impact.

Choose a trustworthy journal for your research: Think. Check. Submit.

What are the benefits of open access publishing?

There’s increasing pressure on researchers to show the societal impact of their research. Open access can help your work reach new readers, beyond those with easy access to a research library.

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