Journal Publication and negotiating the Canada/US impasse

[surefire]

Hi GC-ers!

 

I've got managed expectations for responses here as I know that the Canadian-specific quandaries are tricky in this US student-prevalent space and, well, I assume that at least SOME of us are out enjoying summer!

 

BUT, I'm hoping that a few of you can help me out!

 

I'm finishing up the second-year of my PhD in Sociology at U of T. After finishing a year-long practicum course, I've got a vetted research paper that - with some finessing - I'm hoping to lodge in a journal that will have me. This would be my first pub, and I'm having a difficult time negotiating the terrain. Specifically, I'm in a bit of a pickle as to whether or not I should send it to an American or Canadian Journal.

 

I'm aiming for a specialist journal in the realm of Law and Society. After speaking with my supervisor, I get the impression that a Canadian journal is in the cards for me, primarily because my data and discussion is (without apology) Canada-specific. BUT I also got the sense that my supervisor felt compelled to encourage a US journal, for reasons of "rank" and impact factor. Even though a desk reject might be likely from the latter, the general grad student advice I read is to "aim high" and let the editors decide  - but such advice doesn't have anything to say about the Canada/US quagmire (that is, a Canadian journal might provide a more apt audience, but an American journal would promise a wider one). I've been driving myself nuts with the Web of Science Journal Citation Reports and asking around in the meantime, but I can't seem to get any definitive answers... so let's try a list!

 

Arguments re: Canadian submission:

- 1 specific journal in mind (good fit and I can tailor for it specifically)

- Might reach a more apt audience

- Might be a better place to showcase Canadian-specific data (AND I won't have to re-write to "pitch" a rationale for American comparison or interest)

- Possibly better odds of a favourable response

-Journal is legit and edited by academic rock stars in my specialty. ALTHOUGH, there's not much out there re: Canadian journal rankings for this discipline, so I don't know how publication in such journals is perceived, though my own supervisor has published in said journal several times (and US ones, and European ones...)

- I just presented at the national conference of the Professional Association of the Law and Society journal that I want to submit to, so (1) I'm "in conversation" with these people and (2 ) the research presented, which does pertain to the article, was well-received.

- I'm planning to do some broader work on the topic for the dissertation, so papers from THAT pursuit might be better candidates for US journals later on down the road...

 

Arguments re: American Submission:

- I have three American specialist journals in mind of varying ranks (multiple options)

- Associative prestige appeal and the benefits therein - broad readership, CV-building, participating in bigger conversations in field... ect;

- I've been told MULTIPLE TIMES that high-rank submissions are a wise idea for grad students (I've got some time to play with)

- I could always submit, see what happens, AND THEN submit to a Canadian one (although, if I don't get a prompt desk-reject given the Canadian-specific topic, it could actually take, like, 6 months to hear back... and it could still very likely be a reject... in  researching the journals, I see VERY FEW publications with Canada-only data, and these are from esteemed profs in my field...).

- Get acquainted with process of submitting to high-ranked journals

 

Has anyone else negotiated these geographical fissures? What do you guys think I should do? My supervisor kind of presented some options and then left me to think it through, so I guess I could make a decision based on the recon I've done and then see what she says. I've also recently sent out the article to colleagues and other profs and requested their recommendations, but most people won't be getting back to me for another week or so. Is there something else that I could be doing to figure this out? I'm having a hard time doing the actual editing without first knowing where to send it (bonus: if anyone has general input on the process of editing for publication, I'm open to that - the article-specific advice I have gotten so far is to rewrite and reorganize for clarity (that is, style, not substance) so I'm mostly shopping the draft and reading style guides...)

 

Thanks in advance! Any insight is appreciated!

[fuzzylogician]

Do you want to have a job in the US or in Canada once you graduate? Do Canadians generally read the US journals, and vice versa? When hiring/tenure decisions are made in Canadian universities, do the US journals count less/as much/more than the Canadian ones? (This assumes that in the US, the US journals are higher ranked than the Canadian ones.) Do the answers change if we are just considering your particular subfield vs. the field more generally? 

 

Unless the Canadians ignore the US journals, which I highly doubt (but you can tell me otherwise and I'll believe you), I think the best choice is the highest ranked journal that will accept you, that appeals to the general audience that you would like to read your paper. It doesn't matter that you might not even get past the editor's desk at some journals, no one needs to ever know that--though I hope your advisor can help you select submission venues in a way that makes this eventuality unlikely; one thing to maybe try if this submission uses unusual kinds of data is to write the editor before submitting to ask if their journal would be interested in a submission like yours. Another is to submit to one of the journals that have already published papers based on similar data sources in the past, since they are more likely to be sympathetic to your paper. Since you still have several years to go before you graduate, you can afford to have a longer reviewing process which might happen if you get rejected from a more prestigious journal and have to resubmit to another journal later on. My guess is that US journals have a wider audience than Canadian ones and that they count just the same (or more, if they are higher ranked) for hiring/tenure purposes. In that case, a US journal seems like the better choice. The main reason to prefer a Canadian journal is if it is better at reaching your target audience or if a publication there will do more to help you get hired down the line. Remember, if there is someone in particular who you want to make sure reads your paper (e.g. a famous scholar in your field), you can just email them your paper and ask for comments. There is no need to choose a journal to maximize the chances of them being exposed to the paper; this decision should be more about greater benefits, not about reaching any individual person.

[lewin]

Great advice above.

 

I don't know about sociology but in my field, psychology, the journals with countries in the titles are seen as less prestigious because they're of narrower interest whereas, for whatever reason, the American journals are seen as international/universal. Put another way, there's no such thing as an "American" journal, they're just journals.

[surefire]

Thank you so much fuzzy! That's a super helpful and thoughtful response!

I'm particularly struck by the elegant simplicity of some of your suggestions:

- e-mail the editor before submission?

- just SEND the bloody paper to the influential academic?

Geez, those are GREAT IDEAS! Thank you! I'm going to do those things!

Thank you for articulating how some of my costs/benefits analysis should proceed. I've got a lot to think about!

 

Re: these questions below...

    
 

Do you want to have a job in the US or in Canada once you graduate? Do Canadians generally read the US journals, and vice versa? When hiring/tenure decisions are made in Canadian universities, do the US journals count less/as much/more than the Canadian ones? (This assumes that in the US, the US journals are higher ranked than the Canadian ones.) Do the answers change if we are just considering your particular subfield vs. the field more generally? 

 

Some are easier to answer or guess at than others (for ex.: I want to work in Canada when I graduate and myself and colleagues in my discipline and specialty do tend to read US journals).
But (hopefully this isn't a stupid question), how does one go about finding out firm answers to these other questions? Should I poach Canadian faculty pages and see where recent hires have published? How can I ascertain if Canadian journals are read outside of Canada (I don't see Canadian journals on the citation/impact ranks that I've consulted)? Should I prod faculty members whom I know have been on hiring committees of late (U of T hires might certainly favour US orientations/publishing, but how can I find out what goes on elsewhere)?

 

Again, sorry if that's a stupid question. All of the general info out there (guides and The Chronicle ect;) seem to assume US grad-school attendance. It's hard to tell if the nuances of journal publication and hierarchies is just something one learns through the submission process or if it's something that one comes to know just by networking and talking to others, or if there's some independent research that can be done to divine the  answers.

 

Again, thank you for the thoughtful response! As per usual, you don't disappoint!

 

Great advice above.

 

I don't know about sociology but in my field, psychology, the journals with countries in the titles are seen as less prestigious because they're of narrower interest whereas, for whatever reason, the American journals are seen as international/universal. Put another way, there's no such thing as an "American" journal, they're just journals.

 

Thanks for the response lewin!

 

That's actually really interesting to know! That's not quite the case in my field, I don't think, where The American Journal of Sociology and the American Sociology Review are THE most prestigious generalist journals, but there are plenty of specialist ones that are well-regarded and, for example, obviously European (ex. British Journal of Criminology is a sought-after one). Your point may stand regarding regional distinctions though (for example, The ___(US State)___ Law Review) or ones that identify as grad student journals; I'm told that these are a bit more limited. But again, I'm new to this!

[fuzzylogician]

Some are easier to answer or guess at than others (for ex.: I want to work in Canada when I graduate and myself and colleagues in my discipline and specialty do tend to read US journals).

But (hopefully this isn't a stupid question), how does one go about finding out firm answers to these other questions? Should I poach Canadian faculty pages and see where recent hires have published? How can I ascertain if Canadian journals are read outside of Canada (I don't see Canadian journals on the citation/impact ranks that I've consulted)? Should I prod faculty members whom I know have been on hiring committees of late (U of T hires might certainly favour US orientations/publishing, but how can I find out what goes on elsewhere)?

 

Again, sorry if that's a stupid question. All of the general info out there (guides and The Chronicle ect;) seem to assume US grad-school attendance. It's hard to tell if the nuances of journal publication and hierarchies is just something one learns through the submission process or if it's something that one comes to know just by networking and talking to others, or if there's some independent research that can be done to divine the  answers.

 

Again, thank you for the thoughtful response! As per usual, you don't disappoint!

You're welcome!

 

You ask good questions. There is no magical way to learn what journals are considered better for reputation or for hiring/tenure purposes. I've attended some very interesting panels about publishing organized by my field's national society, where the most immediate result seemed to be that people disagree about this, but that still there are some constants. I took that to mean that you want to have a diverse profile, so everyone can find something that they like. I think you mostly learn about this by gaining faculty's confidence and asking them about their experiences and opinions. You can also learn from the experiences of graduating students, if they went on the job market (if they at least got as far as getting interviews). Universities will differ in their hiring and tenure practices and I agree that it gets complicated if you're interested in markets outside where you are currently studying because people will be less familiar with them. However, quite universally, higher ranked (and more) publications are better.  

 

One good way to know if any journal is being read by the scholars in your field is to check whether others cite papers from there. Also (relatedly) you can go on some famous/upcoming researchers' websites and see where they publish their work. Those would be good venues. I like the idea of going on recent hires' websites and seeing where they publish. Also, ask the faculty in your department. They will know about the process at your university and may have some more anecdotal knowledge about other departments. When you go to conferences, ask other students about the process at their university, or if you meet young faculty, you can ask them about their own progress and if they have any advice. A lot of people will be very generous with what they've learned if you just ask.