8 questions and answers about predatory
journals: Protecting your research, reputation,and funding from theft and fraud
Latest update: November 2020
ThinkSCIENCE, Inc. | Publishing
Initial posting: July 2015 by Chad Musick, PhD

We first wrote about predatory
journals as a serious threat to thescholarly community in July 2015
and about the emerging problem
of predatory conferences in July
2017. Although there is now
greater awareness that suchjournals and conferences exist
and there are more resources
available to help identify them, it
can still be difficult for authors to distinguish predatory journals andevents from reputable ones.
In this updated featured article on predatory journals, we include•

A consensus definition of predatory journals and publishers, released in late 2019•

Recent guidance to help authors protect their research, reputation, and funding fromtheft and fraud by predatory journals
A summary of warning signs that a journal might be predatory•

Background
Academic publishing has changed tremendously with the spread of open accessjournals and the shift to online publishing. There are now more journals for authors
to publish their work in than ever before. This benefits authors by providing more
avenues for
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Page 1 of 9publication, but it also puts greater responsibility on them to avoid the serious
threat of publishing in a predatory journal.
In this article, we describe the features of predatory journals and answer somequestions of the sort that we get asked by authors and by attendees at our author
training events. We also summarize some warning signs of predatory journals andgive links to resources that we hope will be helpful to you in learning more about
this topic.
Note that we use the well-known term “predatory” here to describe journals thatare self-serving and intentionally do not seek to provide value to the researchcommunity or maintain the integrity of the scientific literature. Other terms in use
include “deceptive”, “pseudo”, “fake”, “illegitimate”, “exploitative”, “unscrupulous”,“scam”, “bogus”, and “non-reputable” journals.
And we use the term “reputable” to indicate journals that provide valuable services,
follow standard ethical publishing practices, and help to safeguard the integrity ofthe scientific literature. Other terms in use include “credible”, “legitimate”, and“non-exploitative” journals.

Q1. What is a predatory journal?
Preprints There are many definitions of predatory journals available, but perhaps it
can be most simply stated as follows:"A predatory journal is a journal that deceptively takes from an author."
This concept of deceptively taking from an author can have a number of forms,
which we discuss below. Opinions can differ on whether certain publishers andjournals are predatory or not, but what is not in question is that the bulk of
predatory journals engage in clear fraud.
Predatory journals seek to obtain money from authors (usually via article
processing charges [APCs]) to publish their papers (usually open access) but fail touphold the standard editorial, peer review, or other ethical publishing practices that
reputable journals do. They typically conceal, lie about, or mislead authors on feesand the publication process.
The most recent definition of predatory journals and publishers was published inDecember 2019 in Nature. This clear and comprehensive consensus definition wasreached during a 3-round modified Delphi process involving 43 participants from 10
countries in 12 hours of discussion, addressing 18 questions and 28 sub-questions.
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Consensus definition:“Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at theexpense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information,
deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency,
and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices.”
Grudniewicz et al., Nature 576, 210-212 (2019)

Now that we have a clear definition of what predatory journals are, we next need toknow how—as authors and reviewers—we can identify and avoid them.

Q2. What's the difference between reputable and predatory
journals?
Sometimes you may want to consider publishing in a journal that you and yourcolleagues are not familiar with: perhaps you received an email inviting you tocontribute an article (such emails are sent by reputable as well as predatoryjournals) or perhaps your paper was rejected so you are looking for a new journal toapproach. You’ll need to distinguish reputable journals from predatory journals
when deciding where to submit.
Simply put, reputable journals provide all of the following things, and predatory
journals don't.
•Adequate, qualified review
A reputable scholarly journal provides some form of adequate and qualified
review, whether that be peer, editorial, or institutional review. If a journal does
not provide such review, then publishing a paper in it is no different thanpublishing a paper on your own website, on a pre-print server, or in a generalmagazine. Of course, not all works are intended for peer-reviewed publication,and there is certainly a place for things such as expository articles, textbooks,monographs, and other explanatory materials, but these publications serve adifferent purpose. A journal without some form of adequate and qualified
review is not a scholarly journal.

•Qualified, independent editorial oversight

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Reputable scholarly journals are typically established by respected
academics to serve an unfilled need. To be considered reputable, a journal
must clearly and accurately state the membership of its editorial board. The
board should comprise academics with the expertise to understand andevaluate the papers that the journal publishes. STM, a trade association forjournal publishers, sets out the principle of qualified and independent editorial
oversight (split into two parts: correctness and independence) for publishers
in their International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication.
•Transparent fees, procedures, and policies
A reputable journal will describe—clearly and transparently—on its website
all fees, procedures, and policies, which should follow the latest ethicalresearch and publication practices. If such information is missing or difficult
to find, this is a warning sign that you should check the legitimacy of thejournal further.

•Acceptance by reputable scholarly organizations
Reputable journals are indexed in large, trusted databases of scholarly work
such as Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE (for biomedical work), theDirectory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishers
Association (OASPA), and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Being
indexed means the journals have passed a review of quality practices andprocedures. Lack of inclusion in a repository does not necessarily mean byitself that a journal is predatory (a new journal is not eligible for listing
immediately) and, conversely, some articles from predatory journals haveleaked into well-known repositories such as PubMed Central and Scopus.
Therefore, determining whether a journal is indexed or not is just one step in
deciding whether a journal is reputable or predatory. (See Q6 for a summaryof warning signs to check for.)For more detailed information about the duties of journals and publishers, werecommend visiting the COPE website.

Q3. What do predatory journals do?
Predatory publishers engage in deception to exploit authors. One of the mostcommon forms of abuse is charging excessive or hidden APCs. This type of abuse is,at heart, an attempt by predatory journals and publishers to get paid out of yourresearch funding without providing suitable value in return. However, it's important
to distinguish between the APCs charged by reputable open access journals andCopyright 2020 © ThinkSCIENCE, Inc.
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Page 4 of 9publishers and those charged by predatory journals and publishers (see oursummary of warning signs for predatory journals under Q6).
So, what makes one group reputable and the other predatory? Put simply: quality
and transparency.
Reputable journals will uphold the 4 principles listed under Q2, and they will be
extremely clear about any APCs or other fees associated with publication.
Predatory journals pervert these principles, often providing falsified information
about the readership, importance, and oversight of the journal. In particular,
predatory journals are likely to give misleading metrics or lie about their impact
factor, editorial board, and content (sometimes going so far as to plagiarize otherjournals to give the appearance of having legitimate papers). Some predatory
journals may even create a very similar looking website or use the same branding ofa reputable journal to trick authors into paying to publish with them; this type of
predatory journal is known as a “hijacked” or “imposter” journal.

Q4. Are excessive or hidden APCs the only type of abuse?
No, there are other types. For example, predatory journals may steal intellectual
property through deception, engage in fraudulent or fake peer review, or listrespected researchers on its editorial board without their knowledge or consent.
Because APCs are the most direct route to profiting from others' effort, they are afrequent target of abuse, but generally speaking, abuse can occur whenever thejournal or publisher fails to fulfill its obligations to authors.

Q5. How common are predatory journals?
This question is a subject of debate among academics, but predatory journals
number in the thousands. There are enough active predatory journals for major
funders and organizations to issue advice on how their researchers can avoidpublishing in predatory journals as well as any penalties incurred for publishing inthem; for example, newly announced policy documents in China state thatresearchers will be severely punished for publishing in journals deemed to bepredatory.
When we first wrote about predatory journals in July 2015, there were 671 journals
and 811 publishers on "Beall's List" of predatory journals and publishers. This list
was maintained by Jeffrey Beall, an associate professor at the University of
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Colorado Denver, who tracked one particular segment of abusers: open-accessjournals and publishers.
Beall’s list went offline in January 2017.
The same year, Cabell’s International started two lists: a list of predatory journals,
now called “Predatory Reports” (the criteria for which can be seen here), and acurated list of reputable journals, now called “Journalytics”. Both require asubscription to access. The list of predatory journals currently includes more than
12,000 journals.

Q6. What are some of the warning signs that a journal orpublisher is predatory?
Predatory journals and publishers exist to defraud the scientific community, andthey spend a lot of time and effort thinking of new and innovative ways to do so.
Still, checking for a few warning signs can often identify them.
Typically, multiple warning signs, rather than a single warning sign, indicate ajournal’s predatory nature, and we still need to exercise our own judgement taking
into account all of the information we find out. Here are some warning signs of apredatory journal.
•Is included under “Predatory Reports” by Cabell’s InternationalCabell’s International uses 60 indicators to evaluate whether a journal ispredatory. If your institution does not subscribe to Cabell’s Predatory Reports
section (or its Journalytics section of reputable journals), you can workthrough the following general characteristics of predatory journals to help
you decide.

•Is not indexed in large, trusted databases of scholarly work
As mentioned under Q2, check if the journal is indexed. See Q7 for a list ofsome of the largest databases and organizations to check.

•Has many mistakes in English (or the target language) on the journal’swebsite
Mistakes can slip past even the best of us, but if a journal's editors cannot
write well in the language that the journal is published in, it seems unlikelythat they're qualified to edit that journal. Note that the level of language inthe journal articles is a distinct issue: some journals are very concerned about
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proper language, while others are more concerned with the scientific ideas
and less with fully correct English presentation.
•Promotes the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) or misleading
metrics as a sign of quality
Any publisher in an ISSN member country can get an ISSN by applying andfulfilling the requirements. The ISSN is simply an identifier; it is not anindicator of quality. The governing body of the ISSN specifically states that"[The ISSN] is a digital code without any intrinsic meaning…. [I]t does notguarantee the quality or validity of the contents." Also, some predatory
journals falsify their impact factor or they provide misleading metrics that are
not used by reputable journals and publishers.

•Lacks clear and transparent information about processes and fees on thejournal website and/or in the guidelines for authors
Some predatory journals do not mention in detail processes or fees on theirwebsite, and hope that an email soliciting a paper will be enough to get a
submission from you. Reputable journals state their processes and fees
clearly and transparently on their websites, so if a journal does not do this or,conversely, puts an excessive focus on payment policies when communicatingwith you, this can indicate that the primary goal of the journal is to receive
payments—rather than publish quality scientific work. Note also that
reputable journals often have higher APCs because they incur more expenses
than predatory journals, so always consider what value you will get for any
fees stated.

•Has an anonymous editorial board
Reputable journals will list the members of the editorial board and theiraffiliations. If you are doubtful about any of them, this allows you to contact
them directly to verify their involvement with the journal.

•Has a journal name, URL, and/or branding that is very similar to a reputablejournalAs mentioned under Q3, some hijacked journals try to trick authors into
submitting to them by making their journal look very similar to a reputableone. Double-check these journal details before you submit.

The Think. Check. Submit checklist helps authors to decide if a journal is reputable
or not.
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Also, the AMWA–EMWA–ISMPP Joint Position Statement on Predatory Publishinggives a good summary of 11 characteristics of predatory journals as part of theorganizations’ ongoing efforts to educate the scientific community. (The Japaneseversion is officially translated by our team at ThinkSCIENCE.)
Cabell’s A-Z list gives some additional quick tips for identifying predatory
publishing practices.

Q7. Where can I get information about specific journals?
Some good starting points to see whether a journal is reputable or potentiallypredatory are Cabell's Journalytics and Predatory Reports sections (subscriptionneeded) and large indexing services like Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE (forbiomedical work), COPE, DOAJ, and OASPA.
Also, as in many aspects of scholarly research, your peers and mentors are likely tobe an excellent source of information and a second opinion. Your institution’slibrarian should also be able to advise you (and help you access Cabell’s lists if yourinstitution subscribes).
Above all, you need to exercise your own judgement based on all of the information
available to you. By keeping in mind what journals are intended to do, and whatpublication is intended to accomplish, you are less likely to be lured into submitting
to a predatory publisher.

Q8. Can you help me evaluate a journal?
At ThinkSCIENCE, we continually strive to set ourselves apart as the best at what
we do, and most of the researchers we know do the same. Upgrading the linguistic
quality of papers or translating them into high-quality writing lets us help
researchers get published in better journals—but it's not the only way we help.
We're happy to help if you or your colleagues need assistance with verifying thecredibility of a journal or publisher.

Summary

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Academic publishing fundamentally relies on the integrity of the system's
participants: publishers have a duty to support their journals' editors; journal staff
have a duty to effectively review submitted manuscripts, communicate clearly withauthors, and perform the promised services; peer reviewers have a duty to review
adequately and for reputable journals; and authors have a duty to submit ethicallyconducted research that is free of plagiarism and other ethical violations. Whensome parties act unethically, however, problems like predatory publishing arise.
We hope that this article has been helpful in making you aware of the issues thatshould be considered in choosing a journal and publisher, whether for yourself or
for your students. At ThinkSCIENCE, we offer support at each stage of thepublishing process, so please let us know if you need assistance in selecting ajournal or book publisher (or responding to a publisher's invitation to publish).
Read the online version of this article

Latest update: November 2020
Initial posting (PDF version): July 2015 by Chad Musick, PhD

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