This guide presents information and resources to assist you in investigating journals likely to publish research manuscripts in your discipline. The guide is presented in 3 parts:
- Part 1 - Basic Publication Information for Journals
- Part 2 - Journal Acceptance Rates and Submission Guidelines
- Part 3 - Journal Rankings, Impact Factors, and Cited References
While publication information basics (where journals are published, how often, for how long, in what language, etc) are reasonably easy to find, acceptance rates can be quite hard to locate. There is no single source that publishes acceptance rates for all journals in all disciplinces. We suggest the following:
- Check out the journal's website. In addition to manuscript submission guidelines, many publishers post acceptance rates in the authors' information section.
- Search the name of the journal and "acceptance rates" in Google or another web search engine.
- Search the discipline (i.e., biology) and "acceptance rates" in Google or another web search engine. (Note: your results will be mixed with student acceptance rates for schools and colleges.)
You can also try the resources below for acceptance rates in these specific core disciplines at UHV:
Business
Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities
Cabell's Directory of Business is published in 4 subdirectories:
- Accounting
- Economics and Finance
- Management
- Marketing
Cabell's seeks to provide the following information:
- Basic publication and contact information
- Manuscript guidelines
- Manuscript style requirements
- Review information - including type of review, number of external reviewers, number of in house reviews
- Acceptance Rate
- Time to review
- Fees to publish
Each directory has a subject index to help you identify those journals most likely to accept manuscripts in your research area.
Information in Cabell's is provided by the journal publisher, and acceptance rate formulas differ from publisher to publisher. Cabell's website also has an excellent section titled "What is a Refereed Article?" that speaks about some of the caveats of the peer reivew process and differing methods of calculating acceptance rates.
Link to Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunies
Education
Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities
Cabell's Directory for Education is published in 3 subdirectories:
- Curriculum and Methods
- Psychology and Administration
- Educational Technology and Library Science
Cabell's seeks to provide the following information:
- Basic publication and contact information
- Manuscript guidelines
- Manuscript style requirements
- Review information - including type of review, number of external reviewers, number of in house reviews
- Acceptance Rate
- Time to review
- Fees to publish
Each directory has a subject index to help you identify those journals most likely to accept manuscripts in your research area.
Information in Cabell's is provided by the journal publisher, and acceptance rate formulas differ from publisher to publisher. Cabell's website also has an excellent section titled "What is a Refereed Article?" that speaks about some of the caveats of the peer review process and differing methods of calculating acceptance rates.
Link to Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunies
Literature and Languages
MLA Directory of Periodicals
The MLA Directory of Periodicals provides publication information on the journals and series on the bibliography's Master List of Periodicals. Entries include:
- Addresses
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Frequency of Publication
- Descriptions of the periodical's scope
- Circulation figures
- Peer review info
- Submission guidelines
- Acceptance rates
The MLA Directory is no longer published in print, but is available in electronic format as part of subscription to the MLA International Bibliography. In our library, the MLA International Bibliography is available on the Gale database platform.
Nursing
Unfortunately, there is no published directory providing acceptance rates for nursing journals. we have found some resources you may find helpful -
Northam, S., Trubenbach, M., & Bentov, L. (2000, September). Nursing journal survey: information to help you publish. Nurse Educator, 25 (5), 227-236. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database. Available in print copy in the VC/UHV Library, Periodicals Section.
Review of reasons cited by editors for rejecting manuscripts. Acceptance rates for 83 nursing journals. Survey data from 1998.
Psychology
American Psychological Association
The APA publishes submission and acceptance rates for APA published journals in an annual report titled “Summary Report of Journal Operations”. These annual reports are available at the APA website.
The APA website also hosts the “Authors Corner” , which provides links to policies, manuscript preparation information, and calls for papers for APA published journals.
Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Psychology and Psychiatry
Cabell's seeks to provide the following information:
- Basic publication and contact information
- Manuscript guidelines
- Manuscript style requirements
- Review information - including type of review, number of external reviewers, number of in house reviews
- Acceptance Rate
- Time to review
- Fees to publish
Each directory has a subject index to help you identify those journals most likely to accept manuscripts in your research area.
Information in Cabell's is provided by the journal publisher, and acceptance rate formulas differ from publisher to publisher. Cabell's website also has an excellent section titled "What is a Refereed Article?" that speaks about some of the caveats of the peer reivew process and differing methods of calculating acceptance rates.
