Hey all,
I apologize in advance if this is a question with an obvious answer. Just a disclaimer, I recently finished my undergraduate at WUSTL and will be attending law school this Fall. Consequently, my knowledge of Pol Sci grad school/research & publishing process is pretty much zilch.
I am currently working on a paper that is, broadly speaking, centered around political communication. The methodology is rather basic (linear regression) but the results are significant and the data set used could be considered valuable for future work. The study doesn't produce any groundbreaking theory but does apply an existing (general) theory to a new area. Consequently, I am hoping to be able to have this paper published, but in a journal that isn't too high-level and out of reach. What I care most is that the journal is peer-reviewed and rigorous (i.e. not one that solicits articles for $).
I have looked online and have come across several journals:
Political Research Quarterly (PRQ): https://journals.sagepub.com/home/prq
American Politics Research (APR): https://journals.sagepub.com/home/apr
Research & Politics (R&P): https://journals.sagepub.com/home/rap
Political Science Research and Methods (PSRM): https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-science-research-and-methods
I was hoping to gain insight as to the difference between these journals. Would the above journals be considered relatively equal in tier or is there a qualitative difference?
I was also wondering what the common "strategy" is to publishing -- do you start at the higher-tiered journals and work your way down (assuming your paper gets rejected), or do you work your way up (I'm not sure if this is even possible since I think some journals require your intent to publish before submitting?)?
Lastly, I'm assuming there is a relatively huge difference in tiers between Political Communication (https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/upcp20) and the above journals based on impact factor. Is this a safe interpretation or am I exaggerating the difference?
Thanks in advance!