suggest-journals

name: suggest-journals description: Find suitable Q1–Q2 journals for publication. Searches Scimago, journal databases, and community sources. Filters by indexing (ISI/Scopus), access model, publisher exclusions, and response time. Use when targeting journals for a new paper. invocation: user

/suggest-journals — Journal Finder

Find suitable journals for a research paper. Gathers topic context, applies standing preferences (quartile, indexing, publisher exclusions), searches online sources, and produces a formatted note with ranked suggestions.

Quick Start

• /suggest-journals — Start a new journal search
• /suggest-journals review — Review/update an existing journal suggestions note

Workflow

Phase 1: Context Discovery

Before asking questions, gather project context:

1. Read the project's CLAUDE.md to determine:

   • Research topic and field/subfield
   • Paper type (theoretical, computational, applied, mixed)
   • Target audience (optimization, numerical analysis, applied math, engineering, etc.)
   • Any previously mentioned target journals

2. Scan the paper (if .tex files exist):

   • Read the abstract and introduction for keywords and positioning
   • Note the balance of theory vs. computation vs. application
   • Check existing \journal{} or submission-related comments

3. If no project context is available, ask the user for:

   • Research topic and keywords (3–5 terms)
   • Field/subfield
   • Paper type (theoretical, computational, applied)

Phase 2: Preferences

Present default preferences using AskUserQuestion and let the user override any:

Use a single AskUserQuestion with these defaults listed. The user can accept all defaults or specify overrides.

Phase 3: Search & Report

Step 1: Search

Use web search to find candidate journals. Follow the strategy in references/search-strategy.md:

1. Scimago SJR — Search for the field/subfield category, filter by quartile
2. Journal finder tools — Use publisher journal finders (Elsevier, Springer, Wiley) with paper keywords
3. Community sources — Search for researcher discussions about journal experiences:
   • Reddit (r/academia, r/AskAcademia, field-specific subs)
   • ResearchGate discussions
   • Academic StackExchange
4. Response time data — Search for reported review times on journal review sites

Step 2: Filter

Apply the user's preferences to narrow the candidate list:

• Remove journals from excluded publishers
• Remove journals below the target quartile
• Remove journals not indexed in required databases
• Remove open-access-only journals (unless user allows them)
• Flag journals with reported response times exceeding the threshold

Step 3: Rank

Rank remaining journals by scope fit to the paper's topic. Consider:

• How well the journal's aims & scope match the paper's contribution
• Whether similar papers have been published there recently
• Impact factor and field normalization (SJR, CiteScore)
• Reported review turnaround

Step 4: Generate Report

Create the output note using the template in references/output-template.md:

• Save to notes/journal_suggestions_YYYYMMDD.md
• Include all search metadata (query, preferences, date)
• Present journals in a ranked table
• Add notes on scope fit and any caveats

Present the completed note to the user and highlight the top 3 recommendations with brief reasoning.

Reference Files

• references/search-strategy.md — Web search patterns, URL structures, cross-checking methods
• references/output-template.md — Markdown template for the output note

Limitations

• Journal metrics (IF, quartile, SJR) change annually — always note the year of the data
• Response times are self-reported by authors and vary widely
• Open access policies and APCs change frequently — verify on the journal website before submitting
• Scimago categories may not perfectly match the paper's interdisciplinary scope
• This skill searches for publicly available information; it cannot access paywalled databases