Health Sciences: Predatory Publishing

 Emails (Predatory publishers are known for their frequent, aggressive, and unsolicited e-mails that often appear after a                                        recent publication or presentation.   

• Is the e-mail well written?  Does it contain grammatical or spelling errors? 

• Does the e-mail use excessively flattering or aggressive language?    "Dear Esteemed Scholar"

• Is the focus of the journal compatible with your area of research?

• Does the e-mail have a commercial contact address (g-mail or yahoo)?  Can the e-mail address be verified?

• Is the physical address of the publisher one that can be found through Google Maps?  Does it appear reputable?

  Journal Title        

• Is the title similar to the name of an established journal or publisher?

• Does the title contain misleading geographic information (European, Asian) that is not consistent with the real location of the journal? Where is the journal really published?

  Journal Aim & Scope       

• ​Does the aim and scope seem appropriate for the journal?
• Predatory journals often have an extremely broad scope in order to attract a large number of article submissions. 

  Website 

• Is it unprofessional in appearance with broken links, grammatical and spelling errors, and design?

• Is the journal website easy to find and navigate?

• Is there an "About" section with adequate contact information?

• Is ownership information transparent and easily determined?  

•  Is the editor also the publisher or owner of the journal?

  Editors and Editorial Board  

• Are the members of the editorial board listed on the website with complete contact information?  If in doubt, contact journal editors and board members to verify the information listed.  

• Are the editors recognized experts in the field?  Are credentials listed for each?

• Is the editor also the publisher of the journal?

  Article Examples

• Do the articles seem consistent with the journal title and scope?

• Who are the authors?  Contact the authors to ask about their opinions of the journal.

• Have the same articles been published elsewhere in another journal?  Predatory publishers often "re-publish" and plagiarize materials.  

• Are all the articles written by one person, or are there examples of articles from several different authors?

  Peer Review Process 

• Is peer review mentioned?  If so, what is the journal's peer review policy, process, and turnaround time?

• Is there a way to verify that there actually is a peer review process?

•  Promises of a too speedy peer-review process might be a good indication that if the peer review process even exists, it may not be a thorough one.

  Publication Timeline

• Very quick acceptance and publication timeline

  Fees

• What are the Article Processing Charges?  Is there a clear explanation of the fees along with policies for them?

• Do the fees seem reasonable?

• When are the fees due?  Notification about fees that occurs after a letter of acknowledgment or as a condition of acceptance is not a good sign.   Predatory publishers may advertise low fees to start.  After publication occurs, the  publisher may then invoice the author for additional more exorbitant fees.  

  Impact Factors

• Does the journal list an impact factor?  Often fake impact factors are listed for predatory journals.  

   Indexing, Metrics, and Digital Preservation

• Are metrics the ones used by other reputable journals?  Copernicus Value Index is a fake metric often cited.
• Is the journal indexed in a reputable database such as Medline or listed in a directory such as DOAJ or Ulrich's Web?
• Is there a provision or policy for digital archiving to archive your publication?
• Is there an ISSN? 

   Manuscript Submission

• Are there clear instructions on submitting a manuscript and information on how it is handled once received by the publisher? Legitimate publishers usually require manuscript submission via a third party or a "journal-specific system."  Predatory publishers may rely on submission of a manuscript via email.

  Policy Statements

• Retraction and Copyright policies are not listed.

  Membership in scholarly publishing associations 

• If there is no publishing ethics statement such as COPE's "16 Principles of Transparency" or indication of membership and listing in DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) the Nursing Journals Directory, or a similar publishing organization, this may not be a good sign.  

 

This checklist was adapted from one prepared by Ruth Bueter, Serials Librarian at Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, George Washington University.  It is used with the author's permission and also with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.