Q: How should I choose the best platform to publish my research paper?

Firstly, by ‘platform,’ we understand you mean a journal or even a publisher.

Coming to your query, there are actually quite a few points to keep in mind, such as the scope and focus of the journal (whether the topic of your paper is aligned with the topics published by the journal), the frequency of its publication, and its quality/stature, to name a few. One thing you need to be watchful of though is the presence of predatory/bogus journals that look to dupe unwary researchers. Finally, to improve your chances of acceptance, once you have shortlisted a few journals, you may send them presubmission inquiries in order to gauge their interest in considering and possibly publishing your paper. For the points discussed above, we have provided a few links for you to get started.

• Journal selection guide: Questions you should ask to make the right choice
• Can I write to the editor to inquire if my article's topic matches the journal's scope?
• How to write a presubmission inquiry: Dos and don'ts
• 10 Point checklist to identify predatory publishers

Apart from the above, you may do your own search (looking up relevant databases) or even use a journal selection service (such as ours).

Hope that helps. In fact, identifying the right target journal can be a sort of research too. :) So, happy re/searching!