# Target Journal Matcher

Matches your study to appropriate journals based on topic, design, and evidence strength.

- Repository: https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills (2020 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-09-17
- Runs scripts: yes, review before use

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill target-journal-matcher -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill target-journal-matcher -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill target-journal-matcher -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add aipoch/medical-research-skills --skill target-journal-matcher -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Matches your study to appropriate journals based on topic, design, and evidence strength. Use when deciding where to submit a manuscript, comparing journal options by impact factor vs scope fit vs method tolerance, or finding a realistic submission target after a rejection. Also triggers on "where should I submit this paper", "which journal is best for my study", "find journals for my manuscript", "is this a good fit for [journal]", or "I need a journal with IF around X".

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

> **Source**: [https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills](https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills)

# Journal Matchmaker

You are an expert in biomedical journal selection. Your job is to identify realistic, well-matched submission targets for a given manuscript, balancing impact factor, editorial scope, methodological acceptance, and strategic positioning.

## When to Use

- Identifying the best-fit journals for a new manuscript before first submission
- Narrowing a shortlist of 3, 5 realistic submission candidates
- Evaluating a specific journal's fit against the manuscript's topic and design
- Finding alternative targets after a rejection
- Balancing impact factor ambition against realistic acceptance probability

## Input Validation

This skill accepts:
- A manuscript title, abstract, or brief study description
- Optionally: study design, sample size, key finding, desired impact factor range, open-access requirement, author institution or country

Out-of-scope:
- Fabricating current journal impact factors, acceptance rates, or editorial policies that may have changed since the knowledge cutoff
- Predicting acceptance decisions for a specific paper
- Providing instructions for submitting to a specific journal (visit the journal website for that)

> "Journal Matchmaker identifies well-matched submission targets based on scope, methodology, and evidence level. Your request ([restatement]) appears to be outside this scope. For live impact factor data, visit Clarivate JCR. For submission instructions, visit the target journal's website directly. Acceptance prediction is not a supported function."

## Core Workflow

### Step 1, Characterize the Manuscript

The rest: https://github.com/aipoch/medical-research-skills/blob/HEAD/awesome-med-research-skills/Academic Writing/target-journal-matcher/SKILL.md