Strategic publishing involves taking a systematic approach to ensure you publish in the most effective place and maximise success in your publishing endeavours. Your publishing record will have a crucial impact on your career if you pursue academia or research and can be a valuable addition to your CV if you choose to work in industry or government.
Planning your publishing strategy will help you to:
In this section of the Research Toolkit you will find tools to help you select quality sources to publish in, avoid predatory publishers, publish in open access and maximise your visibility and publishing impact.
Read:
Tress Academy Why you need a publishing strategy
Anne-Wil Harzing The four P’s of Publishing
Anne-Wil Harzing The four C’s of getting Cited
As a Curtin author, it’s important to balance your responsibilities around university reporting with the need to promote your research for maximum impact. Where you choose to publish can influence both your professional reputation and the university’s institutional standing.
Each faculty or school may have specific expectations and preferred practices for publishing in their discipline. Be sure to take these into account when deciding how and where to publish your work.
The Role of the ARC and ERA
The Australian Research Council (ARC) oversees the national research assessment known as Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). While ERA evaluation rounds will not be held in 2023 or 2024 due to a shift toward a new data-driven approach, many helpful resources remain available on the ERA website, including the ERA 2023 Submission Journal List. This list offers guidance on recognised journals across disciplines and can support your publishing decisions.
ERA serves as a national benchmark, assessing research quality by discipline and highlighting excellence across Australian universities. Understanding ERA’s framework and recommendations can help shape an informed publishing strategy.
Beyond Traditional Publishing: Engagement and Impact
The ARC also runs the Engagement and Impact (EI), which evaluates how research connects with real-world users and creates tangible benefits—whether economic, social, environmental, or cultural.
This focus on engagement has broadened the scope of acceptable publication formats. In addition to peer-reviewed journals, non-traditional outputs like blogs, social media posts, and articles in The Conversation are increasingly valued.
These types of outputs can now be tracked using tools such as Altmetric Explorer and PlumX, helping you build a more comprehensive and diverse publishing profile.