Publishing Guidelines for Researchers and Identifying Top Tier Journals Choosing where to publish your work is hugely important regarding the dissemination of your research and aiming for top-tier journals can significantly enhance its visibility and reach.   This guide from the library highlights library tools and services available at University of Galway to assist you with publishing your research. The University has compiled a Master List of top tier journals in their field in both the Web of Science and Scopus databases - Top Journals List.xlsx. To find a journal by discipline, subject or field, use the filter 'Category' column to select or search for a keyword. This list is compiled from Scopus and WoS and shows the publisher, open access status, and if an IRel APC deal currently covers the journal.  You can search for your discipline or a specific journal in Scopus online here and compare citation scores and percentiles. Scopus Compare Journals allows you to compare up to 10 journals in your subject area by CiteScore, SJR, SNIP, citations, documents, percent not cited and percent reviews. All the journals in your subject area from Scopus here. Ensure you have the subject area field displayed as shown in step 1 below, then enter the subject area and finally sort by decreasing order of SNIP. This will sort the journals from the highest SNIP.  How to select the Right Journal Choosing the right journal to submit your paper to for publication involves a variety of factors including the fit of the article to the journal, the reputation of the journal, the journal readership, turnaround times and rejection rates. Things to consider: Peer Advice - Discuss where to publish with senior colleagues or mentors - they will be well placed to determine which outlets are considered prestigious in your discipline. Reputation / Prestige: Is the journal indexed and peer reviewed (eg included in a large, multidisciplinary database of peer-reviewed literature like Scopus or Web of Science).  Proper indexing of journals adds to their reputation and articles published in peer reviewed journals enjoy great respect due to the stringent publishing process.  Consider also journal citation indicators which can be indicative of the importance or impact of a journal (by calculating the times its articles are cited). Discipline fit: Identify a journal suitable for your discipline to help reach your target audience. Research where your peers are publishing and their success and impact using tools like Scopus. Avoid predatory or cloned journals - these are typically open access journals with little or no peer review, low academic standards and little credibility. Beall's maintains a list of such journals. Other factors to consider include the journals publication Turnaround Times, whether its Open Access, if there is a Cost to publish in the journal (there may be an institutional subscription) and Acceptance Rates. There are many third party databases and lists that can aid your in your selection: Discipline specific lists of top journals and publishers like FT50 or ABS List in Business. Directory of Open Access Journals - maintains a list of indexed journals that consider the quality of the paper, the review process, regularity of publications and reputation of the journal. Many large publishers have online tools that allows you to enter the title and abstract of your paper to easily find journals that could be best suited for publishing in: Elsevier Springer Taylor and Francis Wiley

News

12th March 2025

QS World University Ranking by subject 2025: University of Galway achieved a global rank in 25 subjects, up from 24 in 2025, with a top 100 Global Rank in 2 subjects.

9th October 2024

University of Galway ranked in the 351-400 range in THE World University Rankings (WUR) 2025 edition. 

10th July 2024

University of Galway is ranked within the top 100 Universities in Europe for the second year in a row - University of Galway ranked 98th in Europe out of 685 institutions across 42 European locations in the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2025

12th June 2024

University of Galway maintained its global top 50 rank in the 6th edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World IMPACT Rankings 2024, with a global rank of 47 (no. 1 in Ireland) out of a total  of 1,705 institutions from 125 countries across the World. It also maintained its top 50 global rankings in five SDGs.  

 

4th June 2024

QS World University Ranking 2025: University of Galway ranked 273rd in the world, out of ~1,500 global universities. 

 

10th April 2024 

QS World University Subject Rank 2024: University of Galway  achieved a global rank in 24 subjects, up from 23 in 2023, with a Top 100 Global Rank in 3 subjects. 

 

5th December 2023

University of Galway is ranked 120 in the second year of the QS Sustainability Ranking, up from 161-170 in 2022. 

 

27th September 2023

University of Galway retains it's global rank of 301-350 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2024. 

 

20th September 2023

University of Galway is ranked 98th in Europe out of 690 institutions across 42 European locations in the inaugural QS World University Rankings: Europe 

 

27th June 2023

University of Galway is ranked 289th out of ~ 1500 institutions worldwide in the QS World university Rankings. 

 

1st June 2023

University of Galway continued to climb in the  5th edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World IMPACT Rankings 2023, andhas a global rank of 34 (no. 1 in Ireland, up from 47 in 2022) out of a total  of 1,591 institutions from 112 countries across the World.

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22nd March 2023

QS World University Subject Rank 2023: University of Galway achieved a global rank in 23 Subjects, up from 22 last year - with Performing Arts at University of Galway achieiving a global rank of 101-120 for the first time. The subject of English at University of Galway also broke into the top 100 in the world, achieving a global subject rank of 91.