How do I find the right journal for my Ph.D. dissertation? It is a question that almost all students are worried about after completing a dissertation. It bothers almost all students as submitting your Ph.D. dissertation to the wrong journal is one of the most common mistakes that students must avoid. The editors of the journal if find any piece of information irrelevant often directly reject the submission even before peer review. Thus, by flipping the picture we can say that selecting the right journal for your Ph.D. dissertation can maximize the chances of your work acceptance. But for the person who is searching the journal for the first time or for those who really want to get their work published smoothly must follow a few simple tips to ensure the right journal selection.
Why do you need to select the right Journal?
Finding the right journal is a strategically very important step as it has a drastic impact on your research career. It makes your literary work shine and engages the right people to acknowledge your efforts. Journals not only act as a communication medium but also preserve your findings for longer. The popularity of the journal also has a direct effect on the success of your literary work.
Moreover, by following the journal’s author and publication guidelines one can easily take his/her paper to the next level. (Tip: for shortly converting a dissertation into a scholarly article by following a Journal’s guidelines you can seek help from dissertation writing services). Even if you ask someone to turn your dissertation into a scholarly paper, still you have to select the journal on your own. Thus, the following are some tips that you must follow to get your hands on the right scholarly journal.
Define the niche of your Ph.D. dissertation:
Though after writing a doctorate dissertation defining a niche for it is not a difficult task, still sometimes long time intervals between thesis writing and selection of a journal need you to select recall, or re-define the domain of your work. Only if you know the main category of your research then you can enter the keywords for finding the right journal.
Review the list of journals:
The niche of your dissertation helps you enter the right keywords and the right keywords in return gives you access to the most relevant journal list. There are many journals publishing literary work in many similar fields. Moreover, it’s your area of interest that helps you stop at one specific journal. For example, if you have drafted a review article from your Ph.D. dissertation, then finding a journal having an audience belonging to various different fields will be more appropriate. Likewise, if you have conducted advanced-level research or know that no newbie can reach that level then selecting a field-specific journal will be best.
Select journals that match your area of interest:
It’s time to make a final decision. It is possible that you initially find a list of journals showing similar research interests. If you find only one or two related journals then you can give both of them a chance (if rejected by the first). However, if the list goes beyond even what you imagine, you must see other requirements for becoming an author. If you find a journal looking for your work, you must add it to the priority list.
See the author’s guidelines:
It is a journal’s author guidelines that define whether you are a perfect author for them or if they are looking for someone else with entirely different research interests. It tells you how your manuscript must look like and what vital components it must contain. Words limit for each section, things to avoid for writing a winning article, and the exact tone to address a problem everything can be made clear by the author’s guidelines.
Review the publication criteria:
Most of the reputed journals contain a distinctive section stating in which cases your manuscript will be rejected. By keenly reviewing the publication criteria you can maximize the chances of publication. The publication criteria focus on how much time you will require to get your work published and how costly the whole publication process must be. In case you are in a hurry and the publication cost is more than you can afford, you must save your considerable time and try someone else.
Turn your dissertation into a journal-friendly article:
Once you select the article that is affordable, reputable, and the best match with your Ph.D. dissertation work, the next step must be to make a firm decision. All one need to do is copy the content of the dissertation and by following the journals’ guidelines make a ready-to-submit manuscript. To do so you just have to stay in one place for writing a perfect error-free scholarly work for submission and send it to the journal via the link provided at their official website
Wait for your turn it get it published:
If you have followed the author’s guidelines and ensured error-free submission, then you must stay optimistic about acceptance by the selected journal. However, if the condition goes worst or after ensuring all requirements, the journal does not show interest in publishing your work. Then better luck next time. Most of the time, scholars have to face rejection and the research journey never ends with a single rejection.
You can also use the Journal finder tools:
There is also an advanced way to give your journal search the right direction, that is, the Journal Finder tool. It helps inexperienced writers or authors to select the right journal for their Ph.D. dissertations. Even if your research belongs to a multi-disciplinary field then this tool is also extremely important for searching a journal for that. Lastly, it helps in highlighting all the journals offering open access to authors.
Final thoughts:
In a nutshell, how much time you will require to publish your very first scholarly work extracted from the Ph.D. dissertation depends on the right selection of the journal. Journal selection can be made easier by using advanced journal-finding tools and by making a set of vital decisions at the right time.
