Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Journals vary widely, so think before you choose a journal for publishing:

• Impact and ranking (may refer to Bibliometrics & Research Impact databases)

• Audience

• Peer Review Process

• Acceptance Rate

• Editor and Editorial Board

Predatory journals (fraudulent, deceptive, or pseudo-journals) are journals which aim mainly at profit, and attempt to deceive authors to publish for a fee without providing robust peer-review or editorial services. They publish all articles, including low quality, unrelated to the topic of the journal, or nonsensical ones, as long as the authors pay a fee.

Some journals appear to have been hijacked, meaning that their websites or branding have been co-opted by a predatory journal or publisher.

Check the Beall’s list and think before you submit your manuscripts.

Source:

• Elmore, S. A., & Weston, E. H. (2020). Predatory Journals: What They Are and How to Avoid Them. Toxicologic pathology, 48(4), 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192623320920209

Read more:

• Research Metrics@HKUL: https://libguides.lib.hku.hk/researchmetrics
• Open Access Publishing: Transformative Agreement & Journal Selection (Blog post): https://blog-sc.hku.hk/open-access-publishing-transformative-agreement-journal-selection/
• Beall’s list: https://beallslist.net/

Open Access

Open Access brings you the following benefits:

• Improving reach of research
• Helping to provide evidence for impact
  
• Improved reputation for researchers and their host institution through increased citations
• Improved quality of research through open, transparent and reproducible research practices

Source: Jisc

Transformative Agreement

To publish articles in Open Access, an APC (Article Processing Charge) may be required. The Libraries has signed agreements with various publishers so that HKU authors can enjoy full APC waivers!

Publishers list: https://libguides.lib.hku.hk/openaccess/ta

HKU Libraries Open Access Author Fund

The Fund provides funding (up to US$2000) to HKU authors (academic staff, research staff and postgraduates) to publish in immediate open access.

Apply now: https://libguides.lib.hku.hk/openaccess/OA-Fund

APC Discounts

To encourage open access, some publishers are offering discounts in APCs for HKU authors.

Details: https://libguides.lib.hku.hk/openaccess/apc

Online Guide: Open Access@HKUL

Compare journals and look for high-impact journals or articles:

Online Guide: Research Metrics@HKUL

Before preparing a final version of your article for submission, read your target journal's Author Guidelines / Submission Guidelines to understand the journal's policies and practices, including but not limited to:

• Scope of the journal
• Manuscript types
• Document format
• Cover letter
• Research data policy
• Editorial policies
• Manuscript transfer

Many governments, funding agencies, institutions, and journals now require that authors make the data used in the research open, accessible and reusable. This is to ensure reproducibility, research integrity, and scientific rigor.

You may consider HKU DataHub (https://datahub.hku.hk/faculty-of-engineering), the cloud platform for storing, citing, sharing, and discovering research data and all scholarly outputs created by HKU researchers and RPG students.

Online Guide: DataHub

You may consider depositing your manuscript in a preprint server before publication for potential benefits such as:

• early dissemination of research findings,
• earlier and broader feedback, and
• higher citations.

Please check the journal policy on preprints first ⁠— some publishers may have restrictions on preprint servers, and some may not accept manuscripts already published as preprints.

Online Guide: Preprints

• ORCID

  ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that you own and control, and that distinguishes you from every other researcher. You can connect your iD with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more. You can use your iD to share your information with other systems, ensuring you get recognition for all your contributions, saving you time and hassle, and reducing the risk of errors.

Online Guide: Researcher Profiles

HKU Scholars Hub is to enhance the visibility of HKU authors and their research. You can find:

• ResearcherPages (RPs) for
  • Research or teaching Staff with a UGC Grade A - I
  • Research postgraduate students
• Research Output such as
  • Patents
  • Publications
  • Theses