What to Look for When Choosing a Journal
Before submitting your research, evaluate journals on these key criteria:
- Scope alignment — confirm the journal covers your specific policy domain and methodology
- Indexing — Google Scholar, CrossRef DOI, and policy research databases
- Peer review speed — prioritise journals with 2–4 week review timelines
- Open access — maximise reach to government officials, policymakers, and civil society
- APC transparency — clear, affordable, with no hidden publication fees
- Policy relevance — editorial board with government and policy expertise
Recommended Journals — Cluster 9: Public Policy, Governance & Administration
All journals below are published by Keith Publications — open access, peer-reviewed, and indexed for global discoverability.
-
Public Policy and Administration Studies Journal
(PPASJ)
Public policy analysis, public administration, governance reform, government management, policy implementation, public sector innovation, and the study of governmental institutions and their effectiveness.
Public Policy Public Administration Governance Reform Policy Implementation
Fast Publication: Keith Publications journals complete initial review within 2–5 business days and full peer review within 2–4 weeks. Articles are published online within 5–10 days of acceptance — making us one of the fastest open access publishers in public policy and governance research.
Why Publish in a Public Policy Journal?
Public policy research drives evidence-based governance — providing the empirical foundations and analytical frameworks that help governments design better policies, implement them more effectively, and evaluate their impacts honestly. Publishing in a credible, peer-reviewed public policy journal ensures your research reaches the scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and civil society advocates who can translate your findings into policy action. Open access publication is especially important in public policy, where the primary users — government officials, parliamentary researchers, NGO analysts, and citizens — rarely have institutional access to subscription journals.
Types of Public Policy Research Accepted
Keith Publications public policy journals accept a wide range of research types: policy analysis and evaluation studies; comparative case studies of policy design and implementation; mixed methods policy research combining surveys, interviews, and document analysis; systematic reviews of policy effectiveness evidence; quantitative impact evaluations using natural experiments, difference-in-differences, and regression discontinuity designs; qualitative policy process tracing and narrative research; discourse analysis of policy documents and political communication; and cross-national comparative policy research examining different approaches to common governance challenges.
Tips to Maximise Your Acceptance Chances
- Align your research with the journal's scope — confirm your policy domain and methodology fit the journal's published focus.
- Establish clear analytical framework — policy and governance journals expect a clearly stated analytical or theoretical framework.
- Demonstrate policy relevance — make the policy implications of your research explicit and actionable.
- Rigorous methodology — clearly describe your data sources, case selection, analytical approach, and limitations.
- Follow formatting guidelines exactly — non-compliant manuscripts often face desk rejection without review.
- Draw clear conclusions — public policy research should end with clear, evidence-based conclusions for policy and practice.
- Use current and relevant sources — include recent policy documents, official statistics, and academic literature from the last 5 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Research Guides
Explore other research journal guides in the Public Policy, Governance & Administration cluster: