Selecting a Journal

Choosing a journal before doing the research My advice is to not pick a target journal before doing the research – Lot’s of people disagree with this – A target journal helps focus the research – I am more of a “unconstrained” research person – Targeting the journal, especially if it is very focused, will limit your ideas – Always do your research with the idea that it will go to a “top” journal So this advice is really after the research is done, or at least well established. At most, pick a general class of journals.

Choosing the journal after the research is done Be realistic, but shoot high, at least for the first submission – This does not mean that everything should first be submitted to the AER or Econometrica, or even the AJAE – It does mean that you should take some risks – In general, refereeing at more highly ranked journals is of higher quality than refereeing at lesser ranked journals. You can get better feedback, maybe form the editor, even with a desk reject. – But be reasonable too. Shoot high, but not too high. Work your way down. After the first report, reappraise how good the work is.

Picking the journal(s) Make a list of the major themes of your paper Develop a list of journals that publish in that major theme. – Even “general journals” have themes – Pay attention to the field of the editor, especially for general journals – Read the mission statement of the journal. It will be on the journal’s website or in the journal itself. – Rank the journals on your list by Prestige Goodness of fit for your topic

Questions to ask yourself Does my paper match those being published in the journal? – Is my work properly theoretical or empirical compared to recently published articles? – Is it of similar length? – Have they published papers relating to my topic recently? How many? None might be a warning Too many, the editor might want more diversity of topic – Is my technical approach appropriate for the journal?

Questions to ask yourself (continued) How does my research compare to that recently published in the journal? – Now is the time to get more realistic – Is my work “ground breaking”? – Is it of general interest, or only of interest to those in a specific field, or even more narrowly? – Even field journals can view some research as too narrow to be of interest to their readers What is the acceptance rate? How quickly do I need this work to be accepted?

Questions to ask yourself (continued) Once you have picked a journal, ask yourself what you can do to make it seem like a fit? Read the “Advice to Authors” on the journals webpage Specific things to consider – Is my length appropriate? – Do I have the right format for equations, organization, and other things? – Do I have an excessive number of tables or figures, especially compared to recently published papers? – Do I have major references from this journal? This is a key signal about the appropriateness of the journal. If you have none, why not? Is the journal publishing in this area? The references will likely be the first place the editor looks for referees.