From Prestige to Author-Centricity: Introducing and Validating the Author-Centric Journal Selection Index (AJSI)

This study introduces the Author-Centric Journal Selection Index ( AJSI ), a tool to help researchers choose the right journal. We looked at data from 1,066 peer-reviewed journals across 15 areas. The AJSI combines five factors: Quality (QI) , Relevance (RI) , Significance (SI) , Speed/Delay (SDI) , and Accessibility (AI) into one overall score. The results showed that the factors, especially QI and AI , clearly set journals apart. The tests proved the tool is reliable, with strong results in Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) . It shows that the two main groups are Quality–Relevance and Speed–Accessibility . We found that QI and RI explain most of the changes in the AJSI , and all five factors together explain even more. Cluster Analysis found four journal selection themes: Dream Target , High Impact + Realistic Chance , Reliable Quality , and Fast Acceptance . The tool also helped spot predatory publishing by looking at QI and SDI . We confirmed that the model works fairly across different fields. Overall, the AJSI is a simple and reliable tool, offering useful insights for authors , editors , and research institutions .