Writing for Publication: Tools for Getting Started 

 1) Assessing Previously Published Articles or Publications on Your Topic

a) Consulting an article index in your field, or a citation index, for articles that have been previously published on your topic will help you to assess whether your information fills a void or offers a new perspective.

• JHU Electronic Databases and Article Indexes, by name or by subject area
• Library research guides list best article indexes by subject, with direct links.

Citation indexes indicate how many times an author, or a particular article, has been cited by other authors and can be useful in identifying experts in a field. The Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science Citation Indexes are located in the database, Web of Science.

b) View the Digital Dissertations database to identify whether dissertations exist on your topic.

2) Targeting Scholarly Journals and Publications in a  Particular Field
    

 a) To find a list of scholarly journals in a particular field (i.e. Business, Medicine, Art, or Criminology or Law Enforcement) consider looking at the following library resources. Within a subject section, look for journals that are categorized as refereed or scholarly.

            Magazines for Libraries List of core periodicals for
            library collections; Useful for experts' opinions of
            journals, purpose, scope, background, content, audience,
            circulation statistics, price, contact information,
            publication interval, classification and lists of resources
            that index articles from the journals. Also gives clues on
            what editors seek. Contains a subject and title index.

            Location: Eisenhower Library, General Reference Collection:
            Call Number Z6941.K2 (previous editions in
            general collection, consult JHU Catalog for holdings)

            Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory also
            includes the description, type, resources that index
            articles from that publication, price, contact information
            and a web address. A separate index exists for refereed
            titles.

            Print Location: Eisenhower Library General Reference (Wall
            near Information Desk) and Science Reference Z 6941.U45  
            (Check the JHU Catalog for additional holdings and
            locations. )            

b) View the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) for a journal's impact and number of citations per journal title.

For microfiche holdings of JCR, for science and the social sciences, do an Alphabetical Journal Title Search in the JHU Catalog for Journal Citation Reports.

3) Style Manuals and Books on Scholarly Publishing  

a) For a list of general and subject-specific style manuals and publishing guides, please consult the guide on Citing Sources.

b) Additional books on authorship and scholarly publishing, in general or by subject discipline, can be found in the JHU Catalog using the following sample Alphabetical, Library of Congress Subject Heading searches:

            Authorship [Type a subject area followed by two dashes and
            the word authorship to limit by discipline]

                Political Science -- Authorship
                Education -- Authorship
                Social Sciences -- Authorship

            Scholarly Publishing

                Scholarly Publishing -- United States

            Academic Writing

4) Guidelines for Particular Journals
    
Publishing requirements are often specific to the publication and are usually posted on the publisher's web site or available upon request. Look for links for Authors or Submissions.

Example:
 
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

    Note: Most scholarly journals also implement a screening process by
    a panel of peers, or experts in the field, to review and approve
    submissions for publication. Contact the editors for information.