2.3: Identifying Predatory Publishers
- Page ID
- 82800
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Characteristics of Predatory Publishers
In order to avoid predatory publishers, you have to be able to identify them. If you are not familiar with a journal or it’s publisher, evaluate it carefully.
Common characteristics of predatory publishers:
- Website design: amateurish or outdated webpage
- Journal metrics: a predatory journal will often list fake journal metrics like “impact index”
- Real journal metrics include: h-index, Journal Impact Factor
- Read more about journal-level metrics here: https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/research-impact/journal-level-metrics
- Contact information: contact information for the journal is hard to find or there is no contact email
- Editorial board: there is little information about the editorial board
- Manuscript publication: guaranteed publication or an unrealistically short publication time is promised
- Journal may not be peer reviewed, or it my advertise a shortened peer review
- Journal focus: journal subject areas seem random and unrelated, or very broad
- Poor writing: errors or poor writing is present on the webpage or in articles, some articles may be plagiarized
- Submission guidelines: guidelines are vague and short, may not mention peer review
- Solicitation: unsolicited emails asking for submissions, these emails often contain misleading information and may be poorly targeted to you
Note: if a journal has one of these characteristics, it is not necessarily predatory, but the more characteristics it has the more likely it is to be predatory.
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How to check if a journal is predatory:
- Is the journal listed on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)?
- This directory is a curated list of legitimate Open Access journals, however not all legitimate Open Access journals are listed here
- Check Beall’s List
- Beall’s List is a now-discontinued list of potential predatory publishers
- Ask a professor in your research area
- Your professor will know the best places to submit and the ones to avoid
- Ask your librarian for help
- Google it!
- Search the journal name and the word “predatory,” take a look at the information that comes up
Learn more about identifying predatory publishers:
Read the article The false academy: predatory publishing in science and bioethics for more characteristics of predatory publishers: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11019-016-9740-3
Watch this video from the University of Manitoba for a good overview on identifying predatory publishers:
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/phy1/?p=47
When in doubt, don’t submit!
If you are unsure about the quality of a journal, it is best to err on the side of caution. If you find evidence a journal may be predatory, but you are still unsure, be safe and choose another journal.
Read more about evaluating journals in the chapter Evaluating a Journal.