How does one figure out which journals to submit a paper to?
A few steps can help. Check your reference list. Where have others writing on similar topics published? you will end up with a list of reasonable journals. The next step can go in one of two ways,, either you chose a high impact journal on the list and take a chance it will be published there or you try to assess where your paper would best fit. The first approach is high risk and if you get rejected you would take the comments and resubmit to a lower impact journal. Trying to figure out an optimal journal directly is not easy and requires experience and insight. You can, for example, ask peers what they think might be a suitable journal and why. Even if you end up with a few differing answers you will be in much better shape. To decide from the final selection might be a matter of flipping coins. You can also look at the editorial staff and see if there is someone among th editors that is very close to your topic. That can be very useful since it is likely that peson will handle your paper and treat it with insight.