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Library Guide Medical Sciences: Publishing

All services and resources provided by the Medical Library

  Where to publish?

When submitting a manuscript, it is important that your research topic matches the scope of a journal.

  Tips for finding suitable journals:

  • Ask colleagues and/or your supervisor for suggestions
  • Which journals do you frequently read or often occur in the citations of your manuscript?
  • Read the aims & scope page of candidate journals

  Tools to get journal suggestions based on your title/abstract.
Try multiple tools for a more objective overview, as some tools are publisher specific.
The Elsevier and Springer Tools also show the acceptance rates.

  Reporting guidelines

Journals may ask you to adhere to reporting guidelines when publishing a clinical study.

  Scientific writing

When writing an academic publication follow the AMA (American Medical Association) guidelines:


Radboud In'to languages offers courses on academic writing and communication:


  Open Access

View this video by PHD comics (8:23) on the importance of Open Access.


  How can I publish in Open Access?

  • Green route
    By depositing a publisher's or author's version of your publication (with or without an embargo period) in the Radboud Repository.
  • Golden route
    Publication via publisher platforms, in open access journal. In most cases this option is not free of charge, see the box below.

For more information see:

  Discount Open Access publishing

In open access publishing the costs are currently shifting from the reader (via the University Library's licenses) to the author, who is charged with an Article Processing Charge (APC).

Open access deals have been brokered with a number of big publishers, enabling researchers of Dutch universities to publish open access for free or with a discount:

  Avoid predatory publishers

Predatory journals charge a fee for publishing in open access, but are of poor quality and offer no or very few services despite the often professional website.

The websites below offer tips to recognize and avoid predatory journals: