What Are the Requirements to Start a Research Journal?

1. Decide Your Journal Title

⚠️ Important: Changing a journal title later is complicated and may require a new ISSN, so invest time in choosing it correctly at the beginning.

2. Define the Journal Discipline and Scope

A clear and well written scope helps:

You can place this text on a dedicated "Aims and Scope" page on your journal website.

3. Choose a Domain Name for the Journal Website

Some guidelines for domain selection:

This domain will be used in:

So it must be stable and controlled by your organisation.

4. ISSN Registration

To become a recognised serial publication, your journal must obtain an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number). On paper this sounds simple, but in reality ISSN acquisition is often a long, complex and highly sensitive process. Each country has its own national ISSN centre, its own rules and its own expectations from the publisher. For example, in the United States you must apply through the U S ISSN Center using the ISSN Uplink portal, while India and the Philippines follow different procedures and documentation standards.

Even when everything is done correctly, ISSN assignment can take many weeks. If the application form has even small mistakes, unclear answers or missing samples, the process is delayed or sometimes silently kept pending. For new journal owners who are not familiar with these technical and procedural details, this becomes stressful and time consuming.

ISSN acquisition in India is especially difficult because the authorities are very strict about documentation, journal scope clarity and the quality of the website. Similar care and expertise is required for getting ISSN from the U S and the Philippines. That is why the smartest and safest approach is to hire an experienced ISSN consulting expert instead of trying to handle everything alone.

🌟 Expert ISSN Consulting Service

One of India's leading e ISSN consultants is Mr. Darshan Patel, COO of Sequence Research & Development Pvt Ltd. He has a proven track record of successfully obtaining:

He understands exactly what each ISSN authority expects from a journal and a journal website, and helps you avoid the common mistakes that cause rejection or long delays.

5. Crossref DOI Membership

As a journal owner, you have two choices:

For most new or small publishers, the sponsored route is easier and more cost effective. Sponsors manage the technical connection to Crossref, register DOI records on your behalf, and help with proper metadata formatting.

One of the most reliable sponsors in this area is Sequence Research & Development Pvt Ltd, an Official Crossref Sponsored Partner that provides DOI registration services for journals and institutions, often under its brand ecosystem such as OJSCloud and related platforms.

With a good sponsor you get:

Later, your DOI enabled articles become easier to index and cite globally.

6. Similarity Check Service (Turnitin / iThenticate)

Having similarity checking in place not only protects your journal but also improves trust from authors, universities and indexing bodies.

7. Journal Website Builder

The Most Important Requirement

All the elements above become effective only when you have a strong Journal Website Builder and Management System. This is the technical backbone of your entire publication.

A good journal system should handle:

Instead of building this manually from scratch, you should choose a dedicated journal platform. Below are two of the best one stop solutions.

7.1 ScholarJMS

Modern Journal Management System with CMS (Recommended)

Key strengths:

For journal owners who value simplicity, automation and long term stability, ScholarJMS is usually the best choice. It reduces the time to launch a new journal drastically and keeps day to day operations manageable without IT staff.

7.2 OJSCloud

Best OJS Hosting Provider for Those Who Prefer Open Source Open Journal Systems (OJS)

Key strengths:

OJSCloud is a great option for publishers who specifically want OJS and are comfortable with its more modular, slightly more complex environment, especially if they plan to take advantage of custom development. See below give few of OJS website built by OJSCloud

7.3 ScholarJMS vs OJSCloud

Which One Should You Choose?

Conclusion of comparison:

8. Bringing It All Together

💡 The Key Insight

If you get the website platform right at the start, everything else becomes easier. ISSN applications are smoother, DOI workflows are cleaner, indexing submissions are stronger and authors feel confident submitting their research. That is why the most strategic choice you make is not only your title or domain, but your journal management system. For most new journals and institutions, ScholarJMS offers the best combination of power, simplicity and automation to launch and sustain a professional research journal with minimal friction.

Then you are already in the right place.

To launch your research journal quickly and smoothly, you can WhatsApp us anytime at +91 82003 85143. If you specifically want to start your journal using OJS, feel free to contact us on the same number or email at inquiry@ojscloud.com. We can help you get your journal website ready with all the requirements.