Strategic publishing

Taking a strategic approach to publishing can maximise the reach and impact of your research outputs, raise your academic profile and increase your reputation.

How to publish strategically

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To maximise the impact of your work through strategic publishing, you should:

Identify potential publishing outlets for your work using the following pages of this guide, which have specifics for each publication type
Assess the quality and suitability of the publisher or journal
Publish your work
Socialise your work
Assess the impact of your published work.

Assessing quality and suitability

When deciding where to publish, consider the reputation of the publisher or journal, the relevance of the outlet and the potential discoverability of your published work by the intended audience. Your audience may be other researchers who can build upon your research, practitioners who can interpret and apply your research, and members of the public whose lives are improved by your research.

Ask yourself the following questions to help determine the quality and suitability of prospective publishing outlets:

Reputation 

Are they known, or quality, publishers in your field?
Does the publication meet the eligibility criteria for ERA inclusion?
What is the perception of the journal or publisher from the broader community?
Is this journal or publisher genuinely peer-reviewed?
Are the members of the editorial board recognised and qualified, representing a range of expertise within your field?

Relevance 

Does your target audience engage with this journal or publisher?
Are your colleagues familiar with the journal or publisher?
Does this outlet align well with the scope of your topic?

Discoverability 

Can content from the journal or publisher be found in databases?
How long does it take for a submission to be accepted?
Can your work be published open access, or can you retain the rights to upload the author-accepted manuscript into a repository?