Abstract
Selecting a target journal is a universal decision faced by authors of scientific papers. Components of the decision, including expected turnaround time, journal acceptance rate, and journal impact factor, vary in terms of accessibility. In this study, I collated recent turnaround times and impact factors for 82 journals that publish papers in the field of fisheries sciences. In addition, I gathered acceptance rates for the same journals when possible. Findings indicated clear among-journal differences in turnaround time, with median times-to-publication ranging from 79 to 323 days. There was no clear correlation between turnaround time and acceptance rate nor between turnaround time and impact factor; however, acceptance rate and impact factor were negatively correlated. I found no field-wide differences in turnaround time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, though some individual journals took significantly longer or significantly shorter to publish during the pandemic. Depending on their priorities, authors choosing a target journal should use the results of this study as guidance toward a more informed decision.
Highlights
Settling on a target journal for a completed scientific manuscript can be a non-scientific process
Prolonged peer review and/or production can be a major hindrance to authors [9]
Turnaround times did not differ substantially for fisheries papers in any of the five broad-scope journals in this study (Fig 2); for the other analyses in this study data from these journals were not restricted to fish-only papers
Summary
Settling on a target journal for a completed scientific manuscript can be a non-scientific process. Some critical elements of the decision are intangible, e.g., attempting to reach a certain target audience or how well the paper “fits” within the scope of the journal [1,2,3]. Others, such as turnaround time, acceptance rate, and journal impact, can be measured but (other than impact) these metrics are often challenging to locate, leading authors to make decisions without full information [3, 4]. Aarssen et al [4] surveyed authors of ecological papers and found that 72.2% considered likelihood of a rapid decision a “very important” or “important” factor in choosing a journal. Research outcomes may be time-sensitive, so lengthy review
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