How do you choose which journal to submit a paper to?

You can try https://journalfinder.elsevier.com/. Its a useful tool that will suggest related journals to submit your paper based on your abstract and keywords. Thereafter you should decide what is more important to you, sacrificing some time to publish in a high impact journal or publish your paper quickly in middle range impact journals.

Dear Heather, thanks for posting this interesting technical question. Suitable journals can easily be found by using the popular "journal finders". Just search the "Questions" section of RG for the term "journal finders" and you will find numerous useful suggestions in the answers given to a variety of closely related question. Personally I would go for a journal in which the peers in your field of research publish their work. I assume that you regularly read a few renowned journals in your discipline. I strongly suggest that you choose one of those journals which are already familiar to you. Also make sure that you publish your valuable work only with an established publisher such as Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, Taylor&Francis etc.(cf. e.g. the Journal of Soil Contamination or Journal of Soils and Sediments).This way you can avoid stepping into the traps of predatory journals. I also strongly suggest that you ask a senior colleague at your institution about his / her experiences with various journals.

Good luck with your publication and best wishes, Frank Edelmann

- Based on the suggestions of specialists or colleagues

- By specialization of the magazine and the topic of the research you wrote

- By evaluating the magazine, its level, and its reputation

This information can be accessed by searching and asking

I recommend soil systems

Frank T. Edelmann thanks for your answer. My issue is that my publication crosses so many different disciplines, my colleagues all come from one section each and all have very different publication records.

What do you mean by a predatory journal?

At the moment I will have to submit to somewhere without an extortionate publication cost!

to search the keywords of your article on online database, such as ScienceDirect by advanced search tool, and then check the name of top articles in the list of search results is a good way.

Dear Heather, many thanks for your kind response and explanation. For general information about so-called "predatory journals" please check the respective Wikipedia entry about "Predatory publishing" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_publishing). You will also find comprehensive information by searching the "Questions" and "Publications" section of RG for the term "predatory journals". There have been numerous discussions about this phenomenon going on here.

As for your planned research paper, my advice would be to first decide what the main research topic of your work is. If you want that your paper is read by experts in your field and eventually cited, you should publish it in a journal devoted to that particular area. At least that's my personal opinion. Even though your collaborators come from different areas, I would go for a renowned journal in your special field of research instead of publishing the work in something like a "Journal of Everything". I would also suggest to seek the advice of one or two senior colleagues at your institution who have long-standing experience with scientific publishing.

I wish you good luck with your planned publication!

See also these general discussions on how to find a suitable journal:

The submission of a paper to the journal one must see the sustainability of the journal and reputation of the publisher.

Try Springer's Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy

It has a decent impact factor

ESPR and Journal of Cleaner Production

Good question. The content is suited to most environmental journals like:

Journal of Bioremediation & Biodegradation

Environment Pollution and Climate Change

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

My personal favourite journal is the Journal of cleaner production and ESPR.

You can check the suitable journal selection under any Publication house.

You may check the listing under Web of Science or Scopus and go through the relevant journals. Identify the journals covering issues on environmental and water management and submit your paper if the language of the journal is matching with the language of your paper.