Do We Need Both “Poetry and the Distance”– How to Select Right Target Scientific Journals?

Do We Need Both “Poetry and the Distance”– How to Select Right Target Scientific Journals? | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 30 September 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Do We Need Both “Poetry and the Distance”– How to Select Right Target Scientific Journals? Author : Chunsong Hu 0000-0002-0590-3909 [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175925715.54845864/v1 181 views 108 downloads Contents Abstract Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract How to select right target scientific journals? This is a vital topic in the scientific community, since it links to many universities & colleges and institutes as well as the professional development of scholars & researchers (S&R). Currently, there are thousands of scientific journals in the globe, which include Nature index and others. But only those of Nature index (64 in 2014, 82 in 2018, and 145 in 2023) play a crucial role in the professional development, since the paper number published in those journals of Nature index is a pivotal indicator for current scientific evaluation in the globe. In this article, the author discusses “do we need both ‘Poetry and the Distance’ ”, which means S&R need not only journal impact factors but also Nature index. Herein, encouraging S&R to submit their papers to journals of Nature index should be a priority consideration, it is also key to the success. MINI REVIEW ARTICLE Do We Need Both “Poetry and the Distance”– How to Select Right Target Scientific Journals? Running title: Target scientific journals Author: Chunsong Hu, M.D., Ph.D. Affiliation : From the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nanchang University, Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Academy of Medical Science, No. 461 Bayi Ave, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, China. Tel: (+86) 189 70816800; Email: [email protected] or [email protected] ; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0590-3909 Word count: 1,423 (Main text) + 150 (Abstract) References: 33 Table: 0 Figure: 1 Total pages: 10 The author reports no conflicts of interest. Submission Declaration Statement: The manuscript is original, with no portion under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere or previously published, and the authors are responsible for the contents and have read and approved the manuscript for submission. Corresponding author: Chunsong Hu, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Jiangxi Academy of Medical Science, Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, No. 461 Bayi Ave, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, China. Tel: (+86) 189 70816800; Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Abstract How to select right target scientific journals? This is a vital topic in the scientific community, since it links to many universities & colleges and institutes as well as the professional development of scholars & researchers ( S&R ). Currently, t here are thousands of scientific journals in the globe, which include Nature index and others. But only those of Nature index (64 in 2014, 82 in 2018, and 145 in 2023) play a crucial role in the professional development, since the paper number published in those journals of Nature index is a pivotal indicator for current scientific evaluation in the globe. In this article, the author discusses “d o we need both ‘Poetry and the Distance’ ”, which means S&R need not only journal impact factors but also Nature index. Herein, e ncouraging S&R to submit their papers to journals of Nature index should be a priority consideration, it is also key to the success. Keywords: Biomedical journals; N ature index; Peer-review; p ublication ethics; S cholars & researchers; S cientific process Highlights • Currently, there are thousands of professional scientific journals in the globe. • T hese journals include those of Nature- index, SCIE, ESCI, PubMed and other cited. • Nature- index journals play a crucial role in the professional development. • Choosing Nature- index journals should be a priority target of scholars & researchers. Abbreviations AI: artificial intelligence; CNS: Cell , Nature , and Science; LLM: large language models; OA: open access; S&R: scholars & researchers. [1]¿p#1 1 | INTRODUCTION Currently, there are thousands of professional scientific journals in the field of life science and medicine. However, there were only 64 journals of Nature Index in 2014, but 82 in 2018 and 145 in 2023 (https://www.nature.com/nature-index/) after two expansions. In fact, current journals of Nature index include the main journals of different disciplines as well as comprehensive journals. There were only a few clinical journals, such as the well-established JCI, the four top clinical journals ( BMJ, JAMA , NEJM , and The Lancet ) and five cardiovascular journals ( Chest, Circulation, European Heart Journal, JACC, and Thorax ) became the new members after the second expansion. Herein, these journals of Nature index are also known as high-quality journals. Although there are thousands of scientific journals in both Chinese and English, there are only several hundreds of SCIE journals in China, and currently, no journals of Nature index. Therefore, it sometimes makes a helpless choice for scholars & researchers (S&R) to publish their papers in native journals, because it is not easy and realistic to have everyone publish their papers in the journals of Nature index. On the one hand, it is necessary to have good ideas on scientific research and well writing skills in English; On the other hand, it’ also necessary to have sufficient research funding and related supports of preliminary work. 2 | JOURNALS OF NATURE INDEX ARE VITAL AND SHOULD BE PRIORITY SELECTION In fact, every talented individual, especially young S&R, should be encouraged to prioritize submitting their papers to the journals of Nature index, particularly Cell , Nature , and Science (CNS) and their branches as well as the four top clinical journals. To most of S&R, as long as their papers are published in these journals, there will be a significant promotion of their scientific influence and more conducive to their professional development. As we know, there are often lists of papers published in the CNS journals in China. And a series of academic evaluation adopt these data. For example, universities and colleges for “Double First Class” in China and S&R for academician titles. FIGURE 1 Current target scientific journals. These journals include Nature index, SCIE, ESCI, PubMed and non-PubMed cited journals. Generally speaking, PubMed cited SCIE journals, particularly those of Nature index (64 in 2014, 82 in 2018, and 145 in 2023), are very helpful in the professional development of S&R. Thus, encouraging S&R to submit their papers to the journals of Nature index is indeed vital to both their universities & colleges and institutes as well as their professional development. And it’s time to let more S&R to know these initiatives so that they can make right and reasonable choices. Whatever, both “Poetry and the Distance” are good goals for every S&R. That is to say, we need not only impact factor but also Nature index and the top journals for better scientific development. Of course, in most cases, for most S&R, no matter what type of paper [1] they write and no matter what type of the journals they select ( FIGURE 1 ), the principle that paper publication should follow is “the earlier, the better”. In fact, in the field of current biomedical publication industry, “publish or perish” is a common sense in the academic community. [1]¿p#1 3 | WHENEVER AND WHATEVER, PUBLISHING IN TIME IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT However, sometimes there is imbalance for publication in international scientific journals due to the possible existence of editorial prejudice [2]. And current scientific papers should follow ethical standards, guidelines and principles [3] of experimental and clinical research by ethics approval and consent to participate. Normative ethical publications [4] and those scientific papers published in journals of nature index are favored more due to both professionally and financially rewarding [5] as well as better novelty, higher impact and more citations, which are common things considered by reviewers, editors, and publishers. However, no matter what types these journals belong to, the authors should more consider the likelihood of publication in related target journals [5] due to the role of “publish or perish”. In fact, as crucial indicators for internationalization [6] of universities and colleges, those influential academic papers may help to enhance their ambition and promote their development. As we know, there are multiple patterns of publication of scientific papers in peer -reviewed journals, such as open access (OA) or Non-OA. During the pandemic, there were a large of associated preprints posted on bioRxiv and medRxiv servers due to a global rush in scientific publishing [7]. The eLife’s new peer review and publishing model [8] is worthy of trying for b etter journal metrics and other citation indicators. Of course, whatever modes and what-level journals ( Nature index or non-indexed local journals), scientific authors are also vital contributors [9-11] in the real-world. As to what to publish and what’s worth publishing [12,13], due to current academic competitive environment and publishing stress among government policymakers, university administrators, and individual S&R, for example, more than 60% of abstracts presented at academic conferences were not published in full within 2 years of conference presentation [14]. Herein, where to publish [15] and how to help S&R publish their work more effectively? It’s indeed a vital topic for S&R. Obviously, the scientific journal needs “4R” [16], that is “reproducibility, replicability, recognition and reward”, and the academic influence and IF of academic journals needs not only quality and levels of scientific articles, but also integrity of the editing and publishing process [17]. 4 | UTILIZING AI TO ASSIST IN IMPROVING PUBLISHING EFFICIENCY In the era of large language models (LLM) [18], ChatGPT (an advanced LLM developed by OpenAI, as an artificial intelligence [AI] reviewer for academic journals) and others show promise and may be instead of human reviewers due to the high efficacy as an AI reviewer [19,20], but figures and images cannot be reviewed by ChatGPT [21], and there are affiliation bias in peer review by a LLM [22]. Thus, we should enhance regulation, transparency, and routine auditing so as to prevent the mass generation of health disinformation from LLM [23]. Although there is weak evidence of country- and institution-related status bias [24], blinding may reduce bias in peer review [25,26], and institutional prestige bias [27]. In addition, there may be gender disparities in scientific peer review identified by ChatGPT [28]. 5 | CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES All in all, we ( universities & colleges or institutes, journals/publishers, and government ) need both “Poetry and the Distance”, that is to select right target scientific journals and rationally pay attention to their impact factors. Whenever, it’s helpful in encouraging S&R to submit their papers to the journals of Nature index, since it is indeed pivotal to both their universities & colleges and institutes as well as their professional development. At the same time, a good suggestion from Nature [29] included that designing courses on publishing for S&R could help the conduction and translational application of scientific fruits. No doubt, the quality standards of an excellent scientific journal should cover “3H” (the highest ethical principles, highly rigorous peer-review, and the highest quality editorial process) and “3Y” (the novelty, accuracy, and quality) [30]. As one of the most important scientific journals in cardiovascular medicine, the European Heart Journal is often the first choice of cardiologists [31]. At the same time, the selection of target journals should be based on the relevant topics of the paper, and appropriate academic journals should be selected reasonably. For example, for papers on rivers and mountains, atmospheric chemistry, and environmental science [32,33], choosing Nature Geoscience is very natural. Here, wish all S&R an early success! Chunsong Hu contributed to conceptualization, data analysis, methodology, resources, visualization, writing-original draft, and writing-review & editing. The author read and approved the final version of this manuscript. The author did not receive any funding or material support and gratefully acknowledges the reviewers and editors for their critical reviews. The author declared no competing interests for this work. DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and may not be understood or quoted as being made on behalf of or reflecting the position of the regulatory agency/agencies or organizations with which the author is employed/affiliated. REFERENCE [1] Hu CS. Scientific papers: Which type would you prefer? J Integr Med 2019; 17 :77-79. [2] Victora CG, Moreira CB. North-South relations in scientific publications: editorial racism?. Rev Saude Publica 2006; 40 :36-42. [3] McDermott R, Hatemi PK. Ethics in field experimentation: A call to establish new standards to protect the public from unwanted manipulation and real harms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117 :30014-21. [4] Garner HR. Combating unethical publications with plagiarism detection services. 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Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 30 September 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Authors Affiliations Chunsong Hu 0000-0002-0590-3909 [email protected] Nanchang University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 181 views 108 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Chunsong Hu. Do We Need Both “Poetry and the Distance”– How to Select Right Target Scientific Journals?. Authorea . 30 September 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175925715.54845864/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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