Aligning Your Target Audience

It is important to choose a journal that is read by those who will be interested in the work and find it useful.  The focus of your manuscript should fit within the journal’s aim and scope, which are generally available on a journal’s homepage or in its author instructions.  A journal’s aim is the objective or purpose of the journal, while a journal’s scope is the range of topics covered.

To determine if your target audience matches with the journal’s readership, you may consider:

• Does your study have broad implications that may be of interest to researchers in other fields?
  • If yes, a journal covering a wide range of topics may be the best fit
  • If no, a more specialized journal would be appropriate
• Is your study region-specific or suitable for an international audience?
• Does your manuscript cover a topic similar to those previously published by the journal?
• Among the Editorial Board for the journal, do the editors appear to be experts in your field of research?
• Which journals do you cite for your research?