Guide To Identifying & Avoiding Predatory Journals

Almost every academic has heard a lot about the dangers of so-called “predatory” scientific journals from their colleagues, their supervisors, or from online forums and web pages. These journals often charge a fee for quick publication but have poor publishing practices, lack legitimate peer review, and fake inclusion in major indexes. Researchers and academics should avoid publishing their research in these journals, or they risk ruining their reputations or their entire careers. But there is often unclear and conflicting guidance on how to differentiate a credible journal from a “predatory” one, even from veteran researchers and academics.

At IFERP, we recommend that researchers make use of their own critical analysis skills and determine for themselves whether a journal is worthy enough or not. It is extremely important for researchers to choose a reputable and reliable journal that offers a rigorous peer-review process and disseminates their research to a global audience; and that they can be confident and proud enough to about to flaunt on their CVs. A good resource that researchers can use for this purpose is the Think.Check.Submit website which offers a simple checklist for identifying trustworthy reviews (it is highly recommended that researchers follow the rating reviews using multiple checklist checks instead of relying solely on a single indicator). Check out our list of upcoming conferences in 2022 to learn more about predatory journals and their impact on academic and scientific progress. 

Some researchers may be advised to use “blacklists” of journals, but they should exercise caution. It is not recommended for academics and researchers to refer to the “Beall’s List” blacklist in order to identify “predatory” journals. This is because of the fact that the list isn’t really considered very reliable anymore. Also, the list hasn’t been updated since January of 2017.

This blog offers some handy tips and tricks for both early-career and experienced researchers unfamiliar with the online publishing landscape. If researchers can familiarize themselves with what good and bad digital publications look like, they should be able to tell fairly quickly if a journal is suitable for their research or if they should steer clear (and also warn their colleagues to do the same).

• “Calls For Papers” & Email Invitations From Unrecognized Senders Shouldn’t Be Trusted
  • This is perhaps the most straightforward and most effective measure to avoid “predatory” journals. 
  • One of the most frequently asked questions amongst researchers and the academic community, in general, is “Is ‘X’ a predatory journal?”. 
  • This sort of a proposition woul overwhelmingly alluring to some people.

• Researchers should be very careful – ‘predatory’ publishers scour the internet for email addresses and send out thousands of emails each day – and it’s a tactic that works very effectively. 
• Researchers should never reply to emails from journals or journal publishers unless they recognize the sender or have subscribed to their mailing list. 
• If they’re tempted by an email offer or a “call for papers”, they should always visit their website to learn more about the review.

• Academics should also remember that they don’t necessarily need to pay to publish their work in a journal. 
• There are many free publishing options. They certainly shouldn’t pay a journal to publish their article unless it can demonstrate – 
  • world-class digital publishing practices, 
  • high-level editorial processes, and 
  • proper indexing. 
• Researchers should always be careful before parting with their hard-earned money.

• “International”, “Global” Journals With A “Good Reach” Shouldn’t Be Trusted 
  • This rule may seem rather simple, but researchers can often recognize a misleading journal by its title. 
  • “Predatory” publishers seek to “go after” early-career researchers who have been told their ultimate goal is to be published in “international” journals (which is usually a great achievement), and these journals provide a very quick and inexpensive opportunity. 
  • Those journals that make themselves sound too great to be authentic probably are, which is why researchers should try their best to follow these two rules:

• Rule #1
  • If the name of the journal contains the word “international”, “world”, or “global” in the title, they should immediately be skeptical. 
  • The vast majority of “predatory” journals make use of impressive titles like this to mislead unwary researchers. 
  • If a journal makes use of such a title, it must indeed be able to demonstrate it.
  • Researchers must ask queries like – 
    • “Are the editors on the journal’s editorial board reputable?”, 
    • “Is the journal included in international indexes?”, 
    • “Are any of the editors recognizable?”.
  • Researchers can also check the publisher’s official webpage to see if they mention their role in the journal.

• Rule #2
  • If the title is on an extremely broad topic, such as –
    • “Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities”, 
    • “International Journal of Applied Sciences”, or
    • “International Journal of Advanced Research”, 

researchers should immediately be skeptical. 

• Most “standard” academic journals are actually quite specialized, both in terms of domain focus and geography. 
• Academics should be wary that “predatory” publishers create journals with a very broad scope to target as many potential authors as possible.

• Attend a 2022 international conference to learn more about these two rules in detail. Register now to participate. 

• Prestigious Indexing Statements & Impact Factors Should Be Verified
  • Does the journal say it is listed in highly reputable indexes? 
  • Does the journal make the claim of having an impact factor? 
  • Researchers should be wary that “predatory” journals frequently lie about their indexing status by making use of fake logos and fake impact factors. 
  • The great news is that researchers can easily verify this information themselves.

• If indeed the journal really has an impact factor, academics can verify if this is true by finding out if the journal’s name is listed on the Clarivate Web of Science database. 
• If the journal isn’t listed, it has no real impact factor, and the advertised “impact factor” is probably wrong or irrelevant (researchers should also note that many legitimate journals are not indexed in the Web of Science, and the impact factor is a limited metric that measures citations and not necessarily research quality).

• Scopus Indexed Journals
  • Does a journal claim to be indexed on Scopus ( or any other reputable index owned by Elsevier)? 
  • Academics can verify if it is listed here – http://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php. 
  • They can also find many other interesting metrics on the index, if listed. 
  • For more tips on how to publish a research paper in Scopus journals, check out our blog page. 

• PubMed Indexed Journals
  • Many medical journals claim to be indexed in PubMed. Academics can view the database here – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/.

• Many journals are cataloged in PubMed, but not all meet the quality criteria for indexing, so researchers should make sure the information page clearly states either “In: PubMed”, “In: MEDLINE”, or “In: Index medicus”. 
• The most reputable journals will probably have all three (MEDLINE uses the strictest indexing criteria). 
• Journals that have not been officially cataloged will display as “Collection Status: Not in NLM Collection”.

• DOAJ Indexed Journals
  • The DOAJ or the Directory of Open Access Journals) offers a list of Open Access journals that have met its basic entry criteria on their website – https://doaj.org/search. 
  • This is a good database for finding legitimate, open access journals from around the world, many of which do not charge publication fees.

• Researchers should note that just because reviews are not included in any of the above indexes doesn’t necessarily mean they are “predatory” or uncredible. 
• It can prove to be a big challenge and take a number of years for up-and-coming journals to be accepted by these journal indexing databases. 
• The big problem is journals that falsely claim to be indexed when they, in fact, aren’t.

• The “Aims & Scope” & “About Us” Pages Reveal A Lot About The Authenticity Of the Journals
  • There are several ways to verify the expertise of the journal’s editorial team. As Think.Check.Submit mentions, it’s worth checking the editorial board for recognizable names. 
  • Another way is to critically read through the “Aims & Scope” or “About Us” pages on the websites of journals. 
  • By checking these pages, researchers can tell a lot about the publisher and the journal, and fake reviews are easy to spot as most journals tend to write nonsensical ones for themselves.

• This is where journals should offer brief introductions –
  • to their publication policies, 
  • overviews of the types of articles they publish (and sometimes what they do not publish), 
  • their peer-review policies, and 
  • sometimes disclosure of other valuable information regarding the indexing of these journals. 
• These pages should give researchers confidence in the scientific credibility of the publishers and the authority of the journals in their respective disciplines.

• These pages should be free of factual errors or spelling mistakes (within reason – human error is unavoidable). 
• The aims and objectives of journals should be clear and researchers should be able to easily tell if their work is suitable for publication in these journals.

• Bad reviews stand out because they fake their credibility and domain knowledge. 
• Predatory journals often write vague statements or use flowery language like – “an opportunity to share research within the global community”. 
• Researchers may also find that some journals have copied and pasted (plagiarized) information from Wikipedia or other web pages to give the impression that they understand their subject. 
• Researchers should try copying and pasting the opening phrase into Google and check that it is not plagiarized. 
• Attend an international conference in 2022 to learn more about this. 

• The Organization(s) Behind Journals Need To Be Looked Into
  • This is a surprisingly easy way to find out if a review is legit or not, as it reveals why the journal is published. 
  • “Predatory” journals are focused entirely on making money from author payments – they don’t care about the quality of published science. 
  • Looking at the website of a journal, researchers should try to determine –

• Who The Publisher Is? (i.e. Which Organization Is Running/Operating The Journal) 
  • Are their names familiar? Researchers should perform a quick Google search and try to find more information about them. 
  • Sometimes a physical address is given that is clearly residential or in the middle of a field. 
  • Many researchers have discovered a few ‘UK’ publishers who provide a ‘virtual’ forwarding address in London as their head office. 
  • If the publisher is unfamiliar or researchers can’t tell if they are legit or not, the next step is to ask –

• Is There A Scholarly Organization Aligned/Affiliated With The Journal (Such As A Reputable University, Research Institute, Learned Society)? 
  • Do they look like a real organization? 
  • Ideally, researchers should have heard of it. 
  • If the answers to the above two questions are “No”, then researchers should consider looking elsewhere.

• Telltale Signs Of Predatory Journals
  • Although it is difficult to identify predatory journals, there are some red flags that move a journal from “potentially” predatory to “untrustworthy”.
  • Researchers should ask these questions –

• Is the journal well-respected in the academic community?
  • As mentioned previously, researchers can check if the journal appears on search lists of top journals in the world. 
  • Clarivate Analytics offers researchers a journal search function, while Elsevier maintains the Scopus database, which includes a search function for peer-reviewed titles.
  • A problem with these lists, however, that has been highlighted by academics is that they are biased against up-and-coming journals that have not yet reached the seriousness of older, more established journals. 
  • The Directory of Open Access Journals attempted to weed out predatory journals and remove over a quarter of the titles on its eleven thousand-title index.

• Who Is The Publisher Of The Journal?
  • Researchers should note that when a publisher’s journals all have the same editor and if this person also happens to be the publisher, then they should be wary. 
  • They should also be wary if there isn’t any information on the publisher’s academic credentials. 
  • Editors for journals are chosen solely because of their expertise and knowledge of a discipline.

• Who Are The People On The Editorial Board?
  • The editorial board of a journal guides the direction of the journal and is the ultimate measure of quality. 
  • These professionals have to be experts in the field the journal claims to represent. 
  • This may sound ridiculous, but there is one more important thing to check – are all board members still alive? 

• Where Is The Journal Based?
  • Often publishers use a UK or US address to appear more prestigious when they are actually based in Pakistan or Nepal. 
  • Researchers can check this on Google Maps, which should show them a street view of the address. 
  • If they are considering the equivalent of a PostNet, the alarm bells should start ringing. 
  • It’s also worth giving them a call and seeing who picks up the phone on the other side. 
  • Attending any educational international conference worth its salt will help you learn more about how to figure about where a journal is truly located. 

• What Is The Typical Turn Around Time Of The Journal?
  • Peer review remains the foundation of scholarly publishing, with scholars in the same field rigorously checking the article to maintain quality. 
  • If the examiner is excellent, he/she will probably be a very busy person. 
  • When a journal offers a two-week window between submission and peer review, researchers are unlikely to be looking for a quality publication.

• How Many Articles Does The Journal Publish On Average?
  • If a journal produces hundreds – or thousands – of articles per year, how does it manage to give scholars quality editing or peer review?

• When in doubt, It’s Best To Consult A Librarian
  • Librarians monitor and manage university journal subscriptions and are better informed about which journals are quality publications.
  • Enlisting the services of a reputable research consultancy such as IFERP also helps tremendously. 

• Typical Tactics Of A Predatory Publisher
  • If any of below following statements are true, researchers should not submit their work. 
  • These are tactics frequently used by predatory academic journal publishers –

• Guaranteed Publication
  • Researchers often receive spam-like unsolicited email invitations to publish their work (these are different in nature from emails sent by organizations or societies that one belongs to or have published with in the past).

• The Journal Requires The Transfer Of Copyrights During The Submission Process
  • Copyright transfers usually take place after the acceptance of manuscripts. 
  • Most open-access journals also apply Creative Commons (CC) licenses to research that allows for the reuse and remixing; in many cases, authors also retain copyrights. 
  • If a journal does not use CC licenses, the terms of use and reuse must be clear.

• Item Handling Fees
  • Many open access journals charge an APC (article processing fee), which is an acceptable practice. 
  • Legitimate journals always ask for payments to be made after acceptance, and information on their fees are clear and readily available. 
  • APC payments are usually required prior to acceptance. APCs are usually paid after acceptance but before publication. 
  • Researchers should not be asked to pay for an APC before the peer review process begins. 
  • These fees should be clearly stated on the publisher’s website. Download the IFERP app to read up on standard journal publication fees and charges. 

• Ambiguity About What Fees Will Be Charged
  • In some areas, a modest contribution or membership fee is charged at the time of manuscript submission. 
  • These fees feed into editorial or peer review. 
  • In other cases, there is a charge after acceptance, which may include a page, color, or figure charge. 
  • The amount and purpose of any additional charges should be clearly stated on the journal’s website or policies. 
  • Look for unconventional fees such as “management fees”. 
  • If in doubt, researchers should ask their colleagues about accepted practices. 

• Website & Contact Details

• The Name Of The Journal Is Easily Confused With Another Journal That’s Highly Reputed In The Same Discipline 
  • Researchers should look for verifiable information such as an International Standard Serial Number or ISSN, which helps confirm the title, country of journal and where the content is indexed.

• The Publisher Cannot Be Identified Or Contacted Easily
  • Researchers should consider researching contact information, including a phone number and mailing address, and check that the contact information matches the other claims in the review (i.e., the area code of the phone number corresponds to the place where the journal is based, the mailing address is not a private residence). 
  • Most publishers have a general email account that one can contact.
  • Researchers should beware of email addresses that may be unprofessional or have no affiliation with the journal (such as a Gmail or Yahoo email address).

• The Journal’s Website Looks Amateurish Or Highly Unprofessionally Built
  • Researchers may find that the journal’s website is poorly designed and difficult to navigate, including dead links, as well as numerous spelling mistakes and grammatical inaccuracies. 
  • While a lot of legitimate journals may be poorly funded and lack professional websites, errors and broken links are indicators that warrant closer scrutiny of the journal.

• Scope & Mission

• The Journal Does Not Have A Well-Defined Scope, Domain Or Mission

Journals usually have a clearly defined scope and focus on a fixed set of subjects.

• The Published Articles Do Not Match The Title & Stated Scope And/Or The Journal’s Title

For instance, a nursing journal that publishes geology articles.

• Indexing, Impact factors & Archiving

• The Journal Isn’t Indexed Where It Claims To Be Or Where One Would Expect To Typically Find Its Subject Content
  • This is verifiable information. 
  • Researchers should consider the databases they use to find research (for example, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Sociological Abstracts, Google Scholar, SHERPA/RoMEO, ORCID, and other academic networking sites like ResearchGate). 
  • Researchers should ask themselves if a journal is included in these indexes. 

• The Journal’s Statements About Impact Factors Aren’t Verifiable
  • Misleading publishers may list fraudulent metrics such as the “Global Impact Factor” (GIF), the Copernicus Index, or the “Universal Impact Factor” (UIF). 
  • These aren’t based on recognized methodologies. Recognized metrics, as a matter of fact, include Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and Elsevier’s CiteScore, among others. 
  • Not all journals are indexed in these databases, and new journals may not have such journal-level metrics.

• Ethics & Affiliate/Publishing Policies

• The Publisher Isn’t A Member Of A Recognized Scholarly Organization
  • Misleading publishers may misrepresent their affiliations. 
  • It is best to verify stated affiliations through the website of the organization with which a journal claims to be affiliated. 
  • Register and take part in a 2022 international conference to find out more about this. 

• Getting Familiar With Well-Established, Reputable Journals In One’s Own Discipline
  • Lastly, the best way for researchers to make sure they don’t get fooled is to future-proof themselves by familiarizing themselves with what good journals look like. 
  • The best place to start looking for suitable journals is to look at the journals one reads and refer to their published work.

• From what most researchers learn from undergoing training about publishing research articles, the first thing they are required to do after they think they have a research question is do a literature review where they read all the important literature to answer their question of interest.

• This means that once they have completed their research and have finished writing their article, they will have selected at least the first three journal names that came up during their literature review.

• It is very difficult to get other people to do it because researchers know their job better than anyone.

• Researchers should track their references and recommended readings in the articles they like. 
• If they did literature reviews for their research, researchers should go back and check out the journals that were mentioned – these are the journals they should be targeting, whether they are small regional, niche, or high-impact international journals. 
• Researchers should also visit their journal web pages to get an idea of ​​their scope and style.

• Ultimately, it’s up to them where to publish their research, so they should take the time to ensure their papers are published reliably and shared as widely as possible among their target audiences. 
• But researchers should be wary not to be swayed by flattering emails, impressive journal names, fancy impact factors, or too-good-to-be-true offers without doing their research first. 
• Participate in this engineering and technology conference to learn more about world-class engineering and tech journals to publish in.