Where to Publish: A Guide for Faculty

Databases usually tell you the titles they cover. Use those lists to identify publications and check if publications will be easy for your audience to find.

This page has tips for several example databases:

•  PubMed
•  Embase
•  CINAHL
•  (APA) PsycINFO
•  ERIC
•  (Gale) Academic OneFile

PubMed is one of the most common databases for health topics. It will be easy for people to find your article if you publish in one of the journals it includes.

You can identify some potential journals by searching for articles similar to the article you want to write. The citation information will tell you which journals publish that kind of article.

To check if PubMed includes a specific journal:

1. Go to PubMed.
2. Find the Explore section on the homepage.
3. Use the Journals link to get a search box you can use to identify journals. 
4. Find the journal(s) you want.
   1. Use the search box to check for a specific journal or a set of journals on a topic.
   2. Or, use the "indexed in MEDLINE" and "deposited in PMC" links to browse lists of journals. 
      1. Journals indexed in MEDLINE are journals that National Library of Medicine (NLM) has selected after evaluating the journal's quality and content. The NLM"s systems and staff members add subject headings to the articles in these journals to make them easier to find.
      2. Journals currently deposited in PMC have free or open access content. Their publishers apply to be included in PubMed Central (PMC). They go through a different evaluation process . PubMed only provides basic information about these articles, such as their titles and abstracts. 
         1. Researchers who have get federal grant money and publisher their research in other journals may also deposit their articles in PubMed Central. Those articles do not go through this evaluation process.
5. If you get a list of journals, click the title to get more details, including whether it is indexed in Medline or not. If only one journal matches, you will go directly to the details. 
6. To explore the kinds of articles the journal publishes, use the "Add to Search Builder" and the "Search PubMed" buttons.

Embase is another database that is useful for most health topics. MCPHS accesses Embase on Ovid's platform.

1. Select Embase from the list of databases that MCPHS gets from Ovid.
2. Go to the Search Fields tab, which is under the Search History section. ent
3. Go to the entry for jn: Journal Name. (Hint: Use CTRL+F on a PC or Command+F on a Mac to find it on the page.)
4. Click on the info button that displays when you move your mouse over that field.
5. Browse the index to identify relevant journals OR use the letter tabs or search box to jump to a specific point in the index.
6. Select the journal(s) you want and use the SEARCH FOR SELECTED TERMS button to explore the articles published in your selection. The number after the journal title tells you how many articles in that journal are indexed in Embase.

CINAHL specializes in nursing topics and includes articles related to other health disciplines, such as dental hygiene.

To check if CINAHL indexes a specific publication:

1. Go to CINAHL.
2. Find the Publications tab, which is underneath the search box section.
3. Browse the list on that tab OR use the Publications Search box to find relevant titles.
4. Click on the title of a specific publication to get more details.
5. Use the search box or the list of issues to get a sense of the types of articles the journal publishes.

APA PsycINFO specialized in psychology topics. MCPHS accesses APA PsycINFO on Ovid's platform.

To check the publications that PsycINFO indexes:

1. Choose the version of APA PsycINFO you want from the menu of databases MCPHS gets from Ovid.
2. Go to the Search Fields tab, which is under the Search History section.
3. Go to the entry for jn: Journal Name. (Hint: Use CTRL+F on a PC or Command+F on a Mac to search for it on the page.)
4. Click on the info button that displays when you move your mouse over that field.
5. Browse the index to identify relevant journals OR use the letter tabs or search box to jump to a specific point in the index.
6. Select the journal(s) you want and use the SEARCH FOR SELECTED TERMS button to explore the articles published in your selection. The number after the journal title tells you how many articles in that journal are indexed in APA PsycINFO.

1. Go to ERIC.
2. Use the Journals and Non-Journals links at the bottom of the page to get your lists. 
3. Decide if you want just a list or if you want a list, broken down by subject area. 
4. Find a title you want in the PDF you downloaded.
5. Click its title to get all articles in ERIC from that publication.

1. Go to Academic OneFile
2. Go to the Publication Search tab
3. Use List All Publications for a browseable list of titles OR use the search box to find titles that include the word(s) you search. 
4. (Optional) Use filters and limits to narrow the results list by subject, format, audience, or other categories.
5. To get more details about a publication, click it's title.
6. Explore the kinds of articles this publication uses.
   1. Use the Search within publication box to find articles about a specific topic. 
   2. Use the year dropdown menu and the list of issues or dates for that publication to browse.