Explore different categories of research journals, including open access (OA), peer-reviewed, subscription-based, hybrid, and scholarly journals. This guide will assist researchers in choosing the right journal to publish their findings.

With constant determination, many researchers spend sleepless nights conducting research and documenting the results. Research journals are the keystone of transmission and advancements of these academic researches.

They help to uncover the groundbreaking discoveries made by various researchers. A journal is a medium that helps researchers, professors, and other experts in various fields to share their findings with the broader academic community. Also, publishing research in reputable journals gives researchers recognition in the community and advancement in their careers.

This blog will explore different journal categories with 2 examples of each type. To assist the researchers in making an informed decision while choosing where to publish their findings.

Exploring Different Types of Journals in Research

Journals in research act as a significant medium through which researchers collaborate with their peers. This facilitates the exchange of opinions and thoughts which promotes interdisciplinary practices. Before the articles or research papers are published, other experts from the industry analyze them to ensure quality and reliability. This section will talk about various journal types in research across the world.

Open Access Journals (OA) 

Articles or research shared in open access or OA journals are publications, which are freely available and reusable worldwide without any restrictions. The readers can utilize the information or data from the research without any financial, legal, or technical obligations. Two journals with open-access models are:

Example 1: Cureus Journals

Cureus is a leading multidisciplinary open-access journal that prioritizes efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and superior user experience while ensuring accessibility for all readers. It ensures that the research is authentic and reliable.

Example 2: BMC Medicine

BMC Medicine is an open-access journal sharing findings from research communities in clinical medicine and biomedical research. It ensures free access to high-quality research to its readers.

Peer-Reviewed Journals 

Peer-reviewed journals are journals that share the articles or information, reviewed and evaluated by a team of experts and the editorial board of the subject before they are accepted for publication. These experts assess the quality, validity, and significance of the research presented in the articles. The objective of peer reviewing is to match the standards set in each domain. Mentioned below are two examples of peer-reviewed journals:

Example 1: Nature

Nature is a globally acclaimed peer-reviewed journal that publishes papers and articles after a rigorous peer review process maintaining high standards of editorial integrity. It is a multidisciplinary publication that covers diverse areas of science disciplines. 

Example 2: The Lancet

The Lancet is another worldwide trusted leading medical journal. It publishes original research and analysis on various aspects of clinical medicine, public health, and global health knowledge.

Subscription-Based Journals

Subscriptions-based journal models are the non-open access journals that are available to the subscribers. As the content shared is high-quality, the reader has to pay subscription charges to access the journal's content. Anybody who wishes to utilize any information from a subscribed-based journal will have to request approval from the journal. Examples of two trusted subscriptions-based journals are:

Example 1: Science 

Science Journal is a prime multidisciplinary scientific journal that publishes research on a wide scope of scientific domains. The research published here is by the American Association for the Advancement of Science also known as AAAS. To access the full article, the reader must have a subscription to the platform. 

Example 2: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 

JAMA is a peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biomedicine, medical specialties, and healthcare policy. The readers can access JAMA articles only by paying for a subscription. The information is issued by the American Medical Association.

Hybrid Journals 

Hybrid publishing journals are subscription journals that require the readers to pay for a certain article, whereas some of the articles are open articles. This platform gives authors the flexibility to publish between open-access or traditional subscription-based publishing models for individual articles within the same journal. The author or institution has to pay an Article Publication Charge (APC) for the article to be open access. Two models of hybrid journal platforms are:

Example 1: Wiley Hybrid Journals

Wiley is a leading global hybrid publisher that proposes a wide range of hybrid journals on multiple disciplines It allows authors to publish articles on open access while maintaining subscription access to non-open access articles. 

Example 2: Springer Nature Hybrid Journals 

Springer Nature is a German-British academic publishing company that gives hybrid publishing options for multiple journals. The platform allows authors to make their articles open access after payment of an article processing charge (APC).

Scholarly Journals

Scholarly Journals are meant specially for researchers, scholars, and academics within precise disciplines. These journal platforms emphasize majorly on original research articles, book reviews, and academic conferences or discussions. Scholarly Journals have a relentless peer review process so that the articles published have high-quality contributions. Two examples of scholarly journals are:

Example 1: Canadian Journal of History

Canadian Journal of History is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that covers all areas of general history. They publish their articles three times a year in English and French.

Example 2: The Journal of Biomechanics 

The Journal of Biomechanics conveys the highest quality peer-reviewed studies. It publishes reports with authentic and influential findings by utilizing the principles of mechanics to explore biological problems.

Predatory Journals

Predatory journals are also called fraudulent, or pseudo-journals. They manipulate the open-access publishing model by publishing articles without any peer-review and authentication of the information. Some predatory journals even ask for publication submission fees and end up not giving them any legitimate editorial rights or not publishing their articles. 

Six Ways to Identify if A Journal is Predatory

1. The publishers will promise you rapid publication but they will lack reliability.

2. You should review the publishing website, and analyze the language used and the quality of the articles.

3. The platform will not have clear policies on retraction, corrections, and plagiarism of the articles.

4. You need to check their membership on the relevant website: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association(OASPA), or International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM). To verify the journal platform's credibility, send an email to the organization, and they will confirm or deny their membership.

5. The website will have spelling and grammatical errors.

6. Look at the peer review process and time taken to publish articles to maintain the quality of scientific articles and journals.

Final Words

In conclusion, selecting a platform to publish research requires a lot of consideration and strategic planning. Opting for the right journal will significantly affect the visibility, credibility, and reception of your research within the publisher community. Before publishing, ensure that the reach of the journal should align with the purpose and objectives of your research.