Which journal should be chosen when submitting a scientific paper?

Abstract

In the field of urology, many new ideas and skills have been developed by surgeons and researchers. To share this knowledge or these skills with colleagues, we should publish our findings in journal articles. This article is an attempt to lucidly convey how to go about submitting a scientific article for publication in an appropriate journal.

Introduction

Rejection of a manuscript because of suıbmission to an inappropriate journal is a frequently encountered situation which can be expressed as ‘We regret to inform you that your manuscript entitled … has been found to be unacceptable by our Section Editor for publication in the Journal of ….because its contents are not in compliance with our editorial policy’.

Unfortunately, the above statement has been expressed solely with the editorial decision of the journal without critical review of your manuscript by the scientific committee because of its noncompliance with publishing policy of the journal in question. Therefore meticulous selection of the journal for the submission of our manuscript can increase its chance of acceptance.^[1]

We are very excited when we are reading the letter coming from the editor as if we are about to learn the result of an examination. Sentences similar to the abovementioned one imply that something went wrong. However, after the main idea of the article came to our mind, we had planned its design for days, and worked on it for weeks or months during data collection, and writing^[2]. Then where we have erred, and gotten negative responses for which points?

When we are going to send our manuscript to a journal for its publication (Table 1), we should maintain our objectivity about the value of our investigation, and selection of the journal to be submitted. Otherwise we lose most of our time by sending our manuscript from one journal to another. Studies performed on international platform, and their rates of publication can be seen as a display of power.^[3] In recent years though impact factor of the journal appears to have an importance in the determination of its quality, other important issues should be also considered.^[4] Presence of reputed names among editors of the journal, and great number of subscribers are only few of these issues.

Table 1.

Exemplary journals published in the fields of urology, and general medicine

Journals of Urology
1.	Advances in Urology
2.	Aktuelle Urologie
3.	Andrologia
4.	Andrology
5.	Androloji Bülteni
6.	Arab Journal of Urology
7.	Archivio Italiano di Urologia e Andrologia
8.	Asian Journal of Andrology
9.	Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction
10.	BJU International
11.	BMC Urology
12.	Current Opinion in Urology
13.	Current Urology Reports
14.	Der Urologe
15.	European Urology
16.	Fertility and Sterility
17.	Human Andrology
18.	Human Reproduction
19.	Human Reproduction Update
20.	International Journal of Fertility & Sterility
21.	Indian Journal of Urology
22.	International Braz J Urol
23.	International Journal of Impotence Research
24.	International Journal of Urology
25.	International Urogynecology Journal
26.	International Urology and Nephrology
27.	ISRN Urology
28.	Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
29.	Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics
30.	Journal of Endourology
31.	Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
32.	Journal of Pediatric Urology
33.	Journal of Reproduction and Infertility
34.	Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy
35.	Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
36.	Kidney International
37.	Korean Journal of Urology
38.	Nature Reviews Urology
39.	Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
40.	Nephron
41.	Neurourology and Urodynamics
42.	Pediatric Nephrology
43.	Pediatric Surgery International
44.	Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases
45.	Reproduction
46.	Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology
47.	The American Journal of Kidney Diseases
48.	The Canadian Journal of Urology
49.	The Internet Journal of Urology
50.	The Journal of Sexual Medicine
51.	The Journal of Urology
52.	The Open Prostate Cancer Journal
53.	The Prostate
54.	The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
55.	Therapeutic Advances in Urology
56.	Türk Çocuk Ürolojisi Bülteni
57.	Turkish Journal of Urology
58.	Türk Üroloji Seminerleri
59.	Türkiye Klinikleri Dergileri
60.	Urologia
61.	Urologia Internationalis
62.	Urologic Oncology
63.	Urologic radiology
64.	Urological Research
65.	Urological Science
66.	Urology Annals
67.	Urology Journal
68.	Üroloji Bülteni
69.	Üroonkoloji Bülteni
70.	World Journal of Urology
71.	Yeni Üroloji Dergisi
Journals in the field of general medicine
1.	Archives of Medical Science
2.	Biology of Reproduction
3.	Bratislava Medical Journal
4.	Cell Journal
5.	Experimental and Molacular Medicine
6.	Grand Rounds
7.	Interventional Medicine and Applied Science
8.	International Journal of Biological & Medical Research
9.	İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi
10.	JAMA
11.	Journal of Metabolic Syndrome
12.	Journal of Symptoms and Signs
13.	Journal of Applied Medical Sciences
14.	Kartal Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Tıp Dergisi
15.	Klimik Dergisi
16.	Marmara Medical Journal
17.	Mikrobiyoloji Bülteni
18.	Molecular Biology Reports
19.	Reproductive Sciences
20.	The Chinese Medical Journal
21.	The Journal of Clinical Investigation
22.	The New England Journal of Medicine
23.	The International Journal of Applied Biology and Pharmaceutical Technology
24.	The Indian Journal of Medical Research
25.	The International Journal of Clinical Practice
26.	The Journal of International Medical Research
27.	The Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences
28.	Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi

In essence, during writing process, selection of the journal to which the manuscript to be submitted will provide great advantages as for the orientation of the text. Besides, after selection of the targeted journal, availability of similar articles in that journal will provide you a perfect example.^[5]

Another point to be attentive about selection of a article for the targeted journal is “acceptance”, and “time elapsed till its” publication. Tough evaluation of a manuscript by the journal’s reviewers takes about a time interval of 45 days after its submission, this interval can change between one and twelve months. It should be considered that a time interval between one month, and one year might elapse for an accepted manuscript to be published dependent on the journal. Besides, if the journal have an open access to its subscribers, then our number of citations will possibly increase.

Entrance into websites of the journals with higher circulation is enough to access into updated information. Every journal has a page which contains writing rules of the journal which is most often provided in a separate page under the heading ‘Instructions for authors’.^[6] If we comply with the information under this heading, we will facilitate the work of the editorial board, and accelerate the process of critical evaluation by the reviewers who already have got accustomed to the format of the journal.

Subject headings of a scientific journal are our main targets. If your study is an applicable investigation, submitting your manuscript to a journal which prioritizes clinical applications will be a rational approach. If we can categorize our study as clinical investigaton, experimental study or basic science, then it will be easy to determine our target.^[2] A journal grows with its authors, and audience. If you think that your article encompass your specialty, and many other disciplines as well, then a journal with a wider audience can be chosen (Table 1). On the other hand if your article will be read only by the specialists of your discipline, then it should be sent to a journal which exclusively focuses on your field.

Types of articles published by the journal

For an original article, generally there is no need to ask for authorization/approval from the journal. For the publication of a “Review article”, it will be helpful for you to know if the editors of the journal publish a review article in the journal or you should obtain the permission of the scientific editorial board. Similar considerations are also valid for your case reports, and it will be again helpful for you to look for journals which are predominantly concern with case reports. These types of preliminary researches will enable you to select the journal suitable for your manuscripts, and make preparations in compliance with the format of the journal. In detailed consideration of the journal’s format, one should take main headings, as well as number of words contained in the manuscript into account. Therefore every sentence of the section on information to the authors should be meticulously observed, and word-to-word compliance to all directives will increase the chance of acceptance of your manuscript. Another important issue is that as a result of compliance to these rules, editors will evaluate you in a professional category.

Important issues indicated in the “Writing rules” section of the journals:

Example 1. The journal will evaluate researches, and very rarely seen cases in the field of urology, and review articles (review articles requested by the authors designated with the coordinatorship of the section consultants will be considered for acceptance)...

• - As indicated above the journal is not very eager to accept case reports. For review articles, demands for their publication are insistently requested beforehand.

Example 2. The journal accepts manuscripts written both in English, and Turkish (Full texts are accepted both in English, and Turkish)

• - The journal accepts manuscripts in both languages. For manuscripts written in other languages (ie. German) other journals should be evaluated.

Example 3. The writing rules of the journal are based on the document ‘Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals-International Committee of Medical Journal Editors www.icmje.org’

• - This document contains internationally accepted, and used writing rules.

Example 4. For the online submission of manuscripts the below-mentioned steps should be followed in the indicated order:

1. A “Copyright Transfer Form” undersigned, and approved by the authors (after scanning, the document should be loaded online in the system together with other files)

2. Main text (incl. references) (It should not contain summary section, names, and titles of the authors !)

3. Figures (if possible, explanations in the figure legends should be indicated with arrows)

4. Tables should be loaded in the system.^[6]

   or

5. Do not embed the figures in the text, but supply them as separate files.

• - Sentences indicating the critical importance of the order of downloading files. Before forwarding manuscripts to the reviewers they are usually converted to a single file in PDF format

Example 5. Some international journals especially request case reports, and thus protect their image. For example: ... is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal that will consider any original case report that expands the field of general medical knowledge, and original research relating to case reports.

• - An ideal journal for submission of case reports

Example 6. For potentially acceptable manuscripts, the period between receipt of all reviews and when an editorial decision is made is usually longer.

• - An example of a journal that specifies the longevity of evaluation, and acceptance process beforehand, and do not frequently want to deal with the emailed questions as” When will our journal be published”.

Example 7. References should not exceed 30 readily available citations for all articles (except Review Articles).

If you cite more than 30 references editorial board, and reviewers may generate unfavourable ideas about you.

Example 8.

1. Abstract example here

2. The format of the original article should be as follows

• - As indicated above, some journals provide exemplary templates so as to aid the authors.

Important principles which are prerequites stipulated by journals for any manuscript to be submitted can be summarized as follows:

1. Fluency of language

2. Subheadings complying with the writing rules of the journal

3. Compliance to the maximum number of words specified by the editorial board (apart from title, summary, and main text)

4. The place of table(s), and figure(s) in the manuscript (in the text or in separate files)

5. References written in compliance with the rules specified in the “Information to the Authors” section (especially submitted manuscripts to the second, and third journals should fully comply with the number, and writing format of the references)

6. Appropriate writing format for the text or figures (i.e. Word 97, 2008; .tiff or jpg)

The objective of this review article is to transfer basic principles to the readers about selection of the journal for the submission of their manuscripts in the light of personal knowledge, and editorial experience of the author of this section. It should be emphasized that names of the journals more numerous than presented in Table 1 can be found in the internet. Besides updated online articles about writing rules of scientific manuscripts can be encountered in many websites which should be reviewed at certain intervals.^[1,7–10]

We hope that you will get letters of acceptance for your manuscript submitted to the journal for publication stating “Dear....., your manuscript entitled ..... was evaluated by our Editorial Board, and accepted for publication in the Turkish Journal of Urology” or “It is a pleasure to accept your manuscript entitled “...” in its current form for publication in the Turkish Journal of Urology”.