Given the broad range of topics we cover as a group, this isn’t a simple question to answer. The best way to find out which journals are most suitable would be to use Web of Science to find the relevant papers. Advice from your supervisors here is key, they will know where would be suitable to find/publish a paper.
Will a PhD student fail their viva if they don’t have any publications?
The presence (or absence) of publications will not guarantee a pass (or fail) during your viva. One of the criteria of passing your PhD is that you have furthered your field of research and that your work is publishable. This does not mean that it has to be published but any publications that you do have will help to confirm that your peers believe the work to be of a high enough quality to further the research field.
Who funds attendance at a conference?
This is generally a cost which a postgraduate will not have to worry about. Your supervisor will give you permission to attend a conference and the costs (including expenses) will be taken care of my them.
What’s the difference between a conference paper and a journal paper?
A contribution at a conference usually involves writing and submitting an abstract which is then reviewed and either accepted or rejected. If accepted, the content is usually assigned to either an oral or poster presentation. You then go to the conference and either talk in a session or stand by your poster and answer questions on it. Some conferences also have a book of proceedings or perhaps a special issue journal, which you can then write a paper for, based on your presentation at the conference. Needless to say, a conference is a very expensive means of getting a publication and this is not always guaranteed.
By contrast, a journal paper does not involve attending an event. You ‘simply’ write a paper, based on your target journal’s author guide, and submit it. This paper is then sent out to reviewers, who will read it and decide if it is worthy of publication in that journal. If accepted, you usually have a list of corrections to make and then you submit.
Given that a journal publication is peer reviewed it is considered a more valuable publication and is generally more difficult to get accepted.
Dr Linzi E. Amers-Dodd 