How do conservationists choose where to publish?

Abstract

Publishing in academic journals helps disseminate scientific research and contributes to a researcher’s 22 academic career. Conservation is interdisciplinary and, as such, there are a diversity of practitioners, 23 scientists, and others who contribute to the conservation literature. Currently, little is known about 24 how different journal attributes impact an author’s choice of where to publish or how they may act as 25 barriers to publishing in conservation-related journals. Here, we used a Discrete Choice Experiment to 26 determine the interplay between seven attributes and assess journal choice between three demographic 27 groups. Across 1038 respondents, we found that each group exhibited different publishing 28 preferences. Only two attributes showed a consistent response across groups: cost to publish 29 negatively impacted journal choice, including for those in high-income countries, and authors had a 30 consistent preference for double-blind review.