Where to publish your research article: Author guidelines

The author guidelines of most journals can be found on the journal website. (Do a Google search)

Read the guidelines attentively and prepare your manuscript exactly in accordance with the guidelines. Note the word count, layout of the text and illustrations, format of references and in-text citations, etc. (The wrong reference system is often a give-away that the article was rejected elsewhere)
 
Check if the journal is invitation only, because some journals will only accept invited articles.
 
Avoid journals with no clear submission and reviewing process.
 
Author guidelines will also include information on the types of articles accepted, editorial team contacts, specifications for graphics, acceptable language and article length.

There are countless ways in which you can find a particular journal’s author guidelines. Two of these are:

1. ISI Master Journal List

• Select a database from the Journal Lists For Searchable Databases, e.g. Science Citation Index
• Search for a journal by selecting an option provided by the open dialog box.

• Click the name of the publisher to go to the publisher’s page > Select the journal of your choice. 
• Find the “Guide for Authors” link.

2. Google

Most journal titles can be found by typing the complete journal title in the Google search box, e.g. "South African journal of plant and soil". Remember to put the title in inverted commas.