Writing & Publishing

The term "Predatory Publishing" refers to fake or pseudo-journals that exist with the sole purpose of charging fees to authors without any standard editorial and publishing  practices that are associated with legitimate scholarly journals. According to Jeffrey Beall, the one who coined the term in the late 2000s:

"Predatory publishers are dishonest, they lack transparency, and they do not follow scholarly publishing industry standards."

-- Beall, 2016. Essential information about predatory publishers and journals.

The best way to avoid a predatory publisher or journal is to carefully examine their website for warning signs / red flags.

The following is a list of key characteristics commonly associated with predatory publishers and journals:

Website with information on the publisher, journal, and their editorial boards

• Website looks unprofessional or amateurish (poor quality pictures, typos, flashy ads, dead links, confusing layout)
• Multiple pages 'under construction"
• Contact information is missing, incomplete, or leads to dead links
• The journal covers a wide scope of unrelated topics OR the publisher publishes a large set of journals on unrelated topics
• Editors and editorial board are from all over the world and having unrelated academic credentials
• No editor, no review board, insufficient number of editorial board members, or the same editors listed for journals of different disciplines
• Missing, limited, or contradictory information on their 'About Us" page --- if an address is listed, search it in Google Maps to see where it brings you

Journal Title

• The title looks similar to a reputable or well-known publication 
• Contains prestigious sounding but still vague terms in the title
• Might be "hijacked" from a legitimate journal 

Processing and Publishing Process

• Rapid publication promises
• No retraction policies 
• Limited or lacking details on the manuscript handling process
• Lack of clear instructions for authors
• Peer review process is not clearly explained
• Article processing charges (ACP) is very low
• Manuscripts are requested to be submitted via email rather than uploaded through an author's portal

Indexing and Metrics

• No ISSN or DOIs for published articles
• Falsely claiming to be indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• Not listed in a reputable index of journals such as Ulrich's Periodical Directory

Google the name of the journal or publisher and see what comes up. Is it positive or negative press? When in doubt, do not hesitate to ask a librarian for their opinion.

Predatory publishers and journals frequently reach out to unsuspecting authors via email solicitations.

 Keep an eye open for these telling signs:

• Awkward language   
• Citing a former article written by the author
• Use of flattering language
• False information --contact information and/or address listing
• Poor grammar and typos
• Sense of urgency
• Addresses you by the wrong title
• Generic or fake sounding names
• Bloated promises

As a rule, be wary of any emails inviting you to submit to a journal that you have never previously heard of.

• Check the email address and the name attached to the invitation.
• Like any phishing email scam, if there are links embedded into the message, DO NOT CLICK THEM.

Chambers, A. H. (2019). How I become an easy prey to a predatory publisher. Science, 364(6440), 602-602. 

Beall J. (2017). What I learned from predatory publishers. Biochemia medica, 27(2), 273–278. doi:10.11613/BM.2017.029

Richtig, G., Berger, M., Lange-Asschenfeldt, B., Aberer, W., & Richtig, E. (2018). Problems and challenges of predatory journals. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV, 32(9), 1441–1449. doi:10.1111/jdv.15039

5 Things I Learned After Publishing In A Predatory Journal. (September 2017) Post-doc Edmond Sanganyado describes his experience.

Sorokowski, P., Kulczycki, E, Sorokowska, A., & Pisanski, K. (2017). Predatory journals recruit fake editor. Nature 543, 481-483. doi: 10.1038/543481

Neuroskeptic. (2017, July). Predatory journals hit by 'Star Wars' sting. Discover Magazine. Retrieved from http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2017/07/22/predatory-journals-star-wars-sting/#.XQfpDS3MxTa. 

Else, H., & Von Noorden, R. (2021). The fight against fake-paper factories that churn out sham science. Nature 591(2021), 516-519. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00733-5