This guide provides tips for researchers on how to choose an appropriate journal for their research, and guides research support librarians who are seeking to help researchers to choose a journal. 

The main section of the guide is a checklist that enables researchers to analyze elements of a journal and the information provided on its website in order to understand if the journal is right for their research. The order of items in the checklist reflects the order of actions in information checking from the perspective of a researcher.

The guide can also be used by librarians for scenario-based training (e.g. researchers participating in training can be asked to analyze a journal using the checklist). It can be used in combination with other guides and tools (e.g. Think. Check. Submit, cOAlition S Journal Checker Tool) and adjusted to suit the needs of different research disciplines, faculties, institutions, research funders and cultural and language contexts (e.g. by adding new elements or providing additional locally specific instructions).

The guide was compiled by Milica Ševkušić, EIFL Open Access Programme Project Coordinator, and is based on her experience of providing research support and training, and a series of conversations with researchers and librarians. 

The guide builds on the Diamond OA Standard (DOAS), developed by the Developing Institutional Open Access Publishing Models to Advance Scholarly Communication (DIAMAS) project, and the checklist Think. Check. Submit.

Click the download button for a PDF version of the guide, or view it online here.