The rapidly changing academic landscape means that the online research publication platform you choose can determine your research’s success. Among the numerous options, researchers need to choose tactically the platforms on which they conduct research.

Publishing effectively communicates your research and helps grow your reputation as a scholar. It ensures that your knowledge reaches the intended audience. Whether you are a first time publisher or a veteran academic, knowing what to consider when selecting a platform is essential to your success.

This blog highlights the options available in online publishing and the factors that can affect the selection of an online publishing platform. We hope that it enables an informed choice of an online publication platform.

Academic publishers are online services for publishing and disseminating research. They provide the infrastructure for submission, peer review, editing, and archiving. Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley are examples. Their platforms are widely believed to be the top choices for publishing academic articles.

Open access publishing was created to provide research to the public. Open access online publishing is a shift from the paywall model of traditional publishing, where journals are restricted to paying subscribers. This model has brought research to more people, especially in underserved regions, and increased the impact of research.

In the last few years, publishing has fully moved from print to digital based systems. This model that has become popular supports rapid production of content, increased interactivity, and real-time data collection. Digital publishing has improved access and integration with research dissemination, which has increased the visibility of work in academic and non-academic communities.

A digital research platform should be user friendly above all else and the researchers agree. The integrations of navigation ease and an understandable step by step guide, for example, how to input an author bio and how to upload a manuscript, are greatly valued by researchers. There is also a significant amount of time and error saved by tools provided by online journal sites for entering author info, submitting manuscripts, and revising.

The quality of research is determined by the strength of the peer review process, and at a minimum, is expected of a strong journal. The best publishing platform for your research should also have a quality peer review process, and hence, your research will be reviewed by experts in your field. This leads to an enhancement of both the breakdown and the academic quality of the work.

Most authors do not consider the impact of editing journals and articles until the last minute. An example is the professional review platforms that Modern provides by editing text and pre-submission formatting. This leads to higher quality manuscripts and thereby a higher likelihood to get published in top tier journals.

Also, Modern considers your platform as a research promotion tool in addition to a publishing tool. Among others, dissemination of research is enhanced by citation tracking, keyword optimization, and social sharing tools. Which also employ integrated research dissemination tools that help place your work in front of other researchers, policy makers, and the public.

Prominent academic publishers with established reputations—like Taylor Francis, Nature Publishing Group, and the IEEE—offer tailor-made peer review processes and have built large followings. Each publisher focuses on specific sciences. Their reach, impact factors, and publication requirements differ. You should evaluate their options and choose what is best for your publication.

Evaluate online publishing platforms for speed, metrics, audience, and access policies. PLOS ONE is an example of a fast, open access publisher. Cell and The Lancet, on the other hand, have slow publishing processes, but are known for their academic prestige. Some publishing platforms allow digital research publishing, which include enhanced research formats.

Online journals have features that include an article with dynamic texts, interactive infographics, and videos. Research Gate and Academia.edu are digital modern research journals that sponsor peer to peer communication and preprints.

MDPI and Frontiers are academic journals that specialize in first open access publications, and their emphasis is on speedy and extensive publishing with no compromising on quality.

At IMPACT, we understand the publishing process requires professional research publishing services for every step from preparing manuscripts, selecting journals, conducting peer reviews, and completing submissions. Comprehensive publishing services are especially beneficial for researchers new to academic publishing and for those targeting high-quality international academic output.

Choosing an online research publishing platform with integrated services results in a smooth publishing experience and a positive outcome.

When selecting among the various online research publication platforms, you should first consider your distinct research goals. Is that visibility, credibility, speed, or impact? Once that is determined, look for the platforms that cater to your field and your audience.

Analyze the following:

• Target audience and reach
• Impact factor and indexing
• Options for editing journal articles
• Support for journal submission
• Research dissemination tools
• Open access funding policies
• These are all good options for a long-term academic career.

Selecting the most appropriate online research publishing platform is an important strategic step in your academic journey. Effective use of the appropriate platform can maximize visibility, facilitate validation of research, foster collaborations, and generate citations.

At present researchers have access to a wide variety of options for both academic and digital research publishing. It is important to become familiar with the diverse options and to engage with open access publications and research publishing services.

Finally, due to the strategic selection of research platforms, researchers are able to produce a diverse collection of relevant research which is valuable to the global academic community.