Selecting the journal(s) to send your manuscript to is an important part of the academic publishing process. Here are the main criteria to consider:

Journal Acceptance Rates

Journal acceptance rates yield important statistical information about the selectivity of a journal.

Some good places to check for journal acceptance rates are:

• The journal itself to see if the acceptance rates are published.
   
• The website of the journal to see if this information is posted online.

• The journal publisher.
  • The Serials Directory lists the contact information for various serial publications.
     
• Articles that may have been written on the quality of journals in a particular discipline.
  •  If you search through an article database that is key in your discipline, for example PsycINFO for psychology or CINAHL Complete for nursing, you may find articles written on the quality of journals and acceptance rates..

• Writers Market (Ref. PN161 .W83 - first floor non circulating) contains some useful data on acceptance rates for book publishers, small presses, and consumer and trade magazine publishers.

By Discipline

The resources listed below contain information on acceptance rates for scholarly journals in specific disciplines:

Business & Economics 

• Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, "An Updated Ranking of Academic Journals in Economics" (2011)

Computer Science and Business Information Systems

Education and Library Science

• Journals in the Field of Instructional Technology website

English

• MLA Directory of Periodicals available through MLA International Bibliography offers the "Number submitted per year" and number "Published per year"

Nursing and Health Administration

• "Writing for publication: a practical guide." Nursing Standard, vol. 22, no. 28, 2008

Psychology

• APA journal acceptance rates website

• APA Journal Publishing Resource Center

Circulation Numbers

Some good places to check for journal circulation numbers are:

Online:

• The website of the journal to see if this information is posted online.