Think. Check. Submit launched

A new cross-industry campaign has been launched – Think. Check. Submit. The campaign aims to provide information for researchers, through an online hub, about the criteria they should look for when selecting where to publish their research.

The volume of research output continues to grow, and recent years have seen an increase in new publishing services and outlets. In March of this year, the CrossRef database alone included over 71 million digital object identifiers (DOIs), of which 55 million refer to journal articles from a total of over 36,000 journals. Those behind the campaign say there is little in the way of guidance exists when it comes to choosing a journal to publish in.

The campaign is led by representatives from organisations across the industry: ALPSP, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), INASP, the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), ISSN, LIBER, OASPA, UKSG and individual publishers. The campaign will help researchers understand their options, and key criteria they can check before making an informed decision about where to submit.  

It is envisaged that researchers will benefit from more information on what to consider when choosing where to publish, but the campaign will particularly be directed towards early-career academics, and is aimed to be accessible to those whose first language is not English, or who may not be aware of, or have access to, the full breadth of scholarly literature.

'There is a global problem with information inequality and integrity,' said OASPA president Paul Peters. 'Not all publishing companies operate to the required standards for producing quality literature. Researchers need resources to effectively evaluate these factors. Think. Check. Submit. will help researchers to carefully assess their options in order to make an informed choice before submitting their papers.'

'Not every journal offers researchers the same reach to readers in their field – in a very real sense, the choice of journal can make or break a researcher’s profile among peers,' added Michael Mabe, CEO, STM. 'Think. Check. Submit. will support researchers the world over in choosing the right journal to submit their work to.'

TBI Communications has been selected to manage the launch campaign for Think. Check. Submit. which will take place over the coming months and include a website, supporting materials for authors, publishers, and librarians and social media feeds.