Researchers: Dissemination & Impact

Different publishing outlets perform different functions.  

For example, journal papers have an ISSN, making them more discoverable and they generally attract more citations. However, delivering a paper at a conference can provide you with feedback on your research and has networking benefits.

Which journal should I publish in?

Check out the authority of the journal.  Some journals may be predatory and may not bona fide journals or publishers.  The Think, Check, Submit website provides a checklist and can ensure you are submitting to an authoritative journal that will reach the right audience.

How can I find a list of journals for my subject area?

Some subject areas may have a specific list of recommended journals, such as the Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide

For others, you can check journal rankings, such as SCImago Journal Rankings, SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper) rankings, Eigenfctor etc.  These rankings extract citation data from the databases such as Scopus and rank journals according to their citation impact.  These rankings should be used with caution but can outline journals that attract a high number of citations. The Bibliometrics guide [coming soon] will provide more information on citation ranking and how to use this type of data in a responsible and fair way. 

ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every  other researcher. Most publishers will ask you to provide your ORCID identifier when publishing your work. The ORCID webpage provides more information and an online registration form.

The Open Access licences guide provides advice on protecting your copyright as an author of an academic publication, and information on creative commons licences when making your work openly available.

Open access means making research publications freely available so anyone can benefit from reading and using research. It is one element of a broader movement, known as Open Research (or Open Science), which  encourages openness at all stages of the research lifecycle.

Information about how to publish your work in an open access format, along with funder and REF requirements is available from the Open Access online guide.

You can archive your publications in DORA, DMU's Open Repository Archive.

The library can provide ISBN and DOI (Digital Object Identifiers) numbers for university publications.

DOIs are unique numbers assigned to some journal articles and conference papers, to create a URL directing straight to the article or conference paper.

If you want to self-publish externally to the University, then you need to obtain your own ISBNs. The ISBN Agency handles new applications.

Note that some types of publication are not eligible for an ISBN.

For more information contact Alan Cope (ext. 6391).

The Academic Phrasebank, created by the University of Manchester is a general resource for academic writers, providing examples of some of the phraseological ‘nuts and bolts’ of writing organised according to the main sections of a research paper or dissertation, and more general communicative functions of academic writing.