Academic Publishing: Dos and Don’ts for High-Impact Journals

This extensive editorial, authored by Justin Paul, a distinguished scholar and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Consumer Studies, serves as a critical guide for navigating the intricate world of academic publishing. Titled “Publishing in premier journals with high impact factor and Q1 journals: Dos and Don’ts,” the article stems from Paul’s vast experience, which includes overseeing more than 10,000 submissions and authoring over 200 journal articles. His expertise is further underscored by his ranking among the top 86 highly cited Professors in Business & Economics globally by Web of Science, with a rapidly increasing citation rate and an H-Index of 80.

The editorial directly addresses the escalating pressures faced by academics today, particularly PhD students, assistant professors, and associate professors, to publish in journals with high impact factors or Q1 categorization—often referred to as “premier journals”. This pressure is largely due to universities increasingly using journal publications as a primary criterion for faculty selection, promotion, and even tenure, especially in the prevalent Western R1 research-oriented university model where research often takes precedence over teaching. The well-known adage “Publish or Perish” has become a global reality, complemented by the emerging maxim “Publish and Prosper”.

Paul delves into how universities assess journal quality, noting that decisions regarding journal inclusion for promotion and tenure often hinge on established rankings and metrics tailored to each discipline. He highlights that journal classification is carried out yearly by Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus, categorizing journals into Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 based on impact factor and citations. While some countries have their own specific lists, such as the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) or the UK Association of Business Schools (UK-ABJ), many, including Spain, Turkey, China, and Arab countries, widely follow the WOS Q1 system, and Scopus classifications have broad acceptability in developing countries.

Recognizing that publishing in such esteemed journals is a “multifaceted challenge” and that “Crafting an article for a premium journal is an art and science at the same”, the article’s core purpose is to dissect prevailing publishing trends, elucidate common reasons for manuscript rejections, and provide a “compendium of strategies and insights” to augment acceptance rates and mitigate rejections. Paul points out that desk rejection rates can be quite high, sometimes exceeding 70% or even 80% in fields like Business Management, Economics, and Social Sciences.

The editorial outlines numerous “Reasons for Rejection,” including fundamental issues such as a lack of originality and uniqueness, lack of scholarly presentation (e.g., sourcing citations from non-peer-reviewed materials), insufficient impact, flawed design or methodology (e.g., single survey-based research, lack of robustness checks, not following protocols for literature reviews or conceptual articles), unsupported results, poor writing or language quality problems, narrow or replete research topics, unscientific content, plagiarism/high similarity, outdated literature reviews, lack of conceptual/theoretical contribution, scope misalignment, low-quality data sources (e.g., M-Turk, CMIE), high volume of submissions, stringent standards, and even suspected manipulation in tables/results.

Following the diagnosis of rejection reasons, Paul offers a comprehensive checklist of “Dos” and “Don’ts”. Key “Dos” include performing plagiarism checks, meticulously refining the paper, adopting a generalized approach, focusing on the contemporary importance of the topic, incorporating recent references, conducting original research with novelty, and considering mixed-method studies or multiple studies (e.g., Study 1 with CB-SEM and Study 2 with FSQCA). He also advises inviting co-authors from well-known institutions or those with relevant expertise and being a “first mover” on current topics to gain a competitive edge. Furthermore, authors should ensure theoretical contribution in all types of papers, including review articles, and target special issues, especially early in their careers, as they often have relatively higher acceptance rates.

Conversely, the “Don’ts” section provides crucial warnings: avoiding student samples, convenient sampling and snowball sampling, and small-size samples. Authors are also cautioned against working on topics already saturated with thousands of papers, including country or state names in titles, or citing low-quality/predatory journals and websites. Paul also advises against defending aggressively if a revision is requested and suggests being flexible with reference formats, as many journals now have free format policies. He also provides practical advice on how to structure each section of an article, from crafting a precise abstract and an introduction that highlights novelty, to developing the literature review using protocols like SPAR-4-SLR, and mastering the discussion section with findings, theoretical/managerial implications, and future research directions.

In essence, Paul’s editorial is a vital resource for researchers, providing practical, experience-based advice to enhance publication success in the highly competitive landscape of premier academic journals.

APA Reference: Paul, J. (2024). Publishing in premier journals with high impact factor and Q1 journals: Dos and Don’ts. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 48(3), e13049. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.13049

Note: Guidelines for Success: Dos and Don’ts in Publishing with High Impact Factor and Q1 Journals