Journal selection: Find the right journal and maximize the chance of publication
The journey to publishing in an Elsevier journal begins with finding the right journal for your paper.
How to find the best journal for you
Finding the right journal to submit to is one of the most important decisions in your publishing journey.
Whether you’re submitting your first manuscript or exploring new publishing options, informed journal selection streamlines the submission process, increases your chances of acceptance and sets you on the path to successful publication.
The three key areas of journal selection are outlined below with links to our resources.
Identifying journals for publication
Elsevier journals are underpinned by rigorous peer review, ensuring content integrity, accuracy and reproducibility. Determining which Elsevier journal is the best fit for your manuscript involves evaluating the alignment between your research and a journal’s scope, audience and standards.
Start by finding journals that regularly publish work similar to yours, paying close attention to their aims and scope, author guidelines and the themes within recently published articles.
Elsevier’s comprehensive Journal Catalog provides detailed information on over 2,900 journals across all disciplines. If you’ve already started writing, our Journal Finder tool matches your manuscript’s title and abstract with the most suitable Elsevier journals, saving you valuable time in finding the right journal.
Evaluate the impact and reputation of journals using citation-based metrics such as CiteScore or Impact Factor. Equally important are practical considerations such as acceptance rates and publication speed.
Publishing in a special issue
Special issues provide a unique opportunity to publish within a focused collection of articles. These thematic editions often address emerging lines of research, commemorate landmark anniversaries or recognize a particular individual’s or group’s contribution to the field.
Elsevier journals regularly feature special issues across all disciplines. Our Call for Papers for Special Issues enables you to filter by subject and browse calls from your selected subject domain.
Special issues tend to have faster publication timelines and are often cited more frequently than articles published in regular issues, thereby maximizing the impact of your research. Guest editors for special issues are typically leading experts in their field, adding further credibility among your peers.
Publishing open access with Elsevier
To support every researcher in sharing their work in the way that best suits them, nearly all of Elsevier's over 3,000 journals enable open access publishing. Almost 900 of these are fully open access. As part of our commitment to open access publishing, we work closely with academic organizations and funding bodies to ensure research can be widely shared, easily discovered and built upon in an inclusive and sustainable way.
Frequently asked questions
Journal selection supportCarefully read the journal’s aims and scope statement, browse recent issues to understand typical content themes and review author guidelines for specific requirements. If uncertain, contact the editorial office for clarification.
Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is calculated by Clarivate Analytics as the average of the sum of the citations received in a given year to a journal’s previous two years of publications (linked to the journal, but not necessarily to specific publications) divided by the sum of “citable” publications in the previous two years. Other metrics like CiteScore use different timeframes and methodologies.
Please read the call for papers announcement on the relevant journal homepage, where you can view the open special issue topics, special issue scope and related keywords.
For journals which support both open access and subscription article publications (known as “hybrid journals”), you are free to choose either option for publishing your research. Although you are asked to indicate if you want to publish open access at an early stage of the submission process, you do not need to make a final decision on this aspect until the manuscript is accepted. No publication fee will be charged if your article is published under the subscription model. The publication model choice will have no effect on the peer review process or acceptance of your submission.
The Article Publishing Charge (APC) is the fee that you, your institution, or funder must pay to publish open access. APCs vary between journals and publishers. Consult the journal homepage under the 'Open Access' section for information about the open access publication fees.
In some cases, your funder or institution may have additional funds to pay for these costs, in other cases you may need to use part of your grant money. Always check with your funder’s and institution’s open access policies.
Summary
Your choice of journal shapes the success of your publication journey. By carefully evaluating journal scope, considering special issue opportunities and exploring open access options, you can optimize your chances of publication and build impact in your field of science.
Once you’ve completed this stage of the publication journey, you’re ready to move on to the next: Manuscript preparation.