Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What Motivates Authors Of Scholarly Articles? The Importance Of Journal Attributes And Potential Audience On Publication Choice., Carol Tenopir, Elizabeth Dortch Dalton, Allison Fish, Lisa Christian, Misty K. Jones, Mackenzie Smith

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this article we examine what motivations influence academic authors in selecting a journal in which to publish. A survey was sent to approximately 15,000 faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers at four large North American research universities with a response rate of 14.4% (n = 2021). Respondents were asked to rate how eight different journal attributes and five different audiences influence their choice of publication output. Within the sample, the most highly rated attributes are quality and reputation of journal and fit with the scope of the journal; open access is the least important attribute. Researchers at other research-intensive …