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Predatory Publishing

What is Predatory Publishing?

Predatory publishing describes the exploitation of publishers and/or organizations by charging publication fees (or article processing charges), yet without following up on checking articles for quality and legitimacy, and not providing editorial and publishing services that legitimate publishers provide.

These publishers often engage in deceptive and unethical business practices and make false claims about a journal’s impact factor, indexing, high standards, and peer review.

Why to Avoid Predatory Publishers

  • Your work may be subject to second-rate peer review
  • Your work could disappear if the publisher goes out of business
  • Predatory journals are not usually indexed in academic databases, thus decreasing the readership and impact of your work
  • Predatory or deceptive journals may serve as an outlet for plagiarized material or fabricated results
  • The journal's bad reputation may be extended to the authors, their institutions, or even the entire field or discipline

 Information courtesy of University of Arizona Libraries

Avoiding Predatory Publishers -- Think, Check, Submit

Think, Check, Submit is a collaborative organization to help researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. Through a range of tools and practical resources, this international cross-sector initiative aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.

Credit Courtesy of Think, Check, Submit

the word think

Are you submitting your research to a trusted journal?

Is it the right journal for your work?

  • More research is being published worldwide.
  • New journals are launched each week.
  • Many researchers have concerns about predatory publishing.
  • It can be challenging to find up-to-date guidance when choosing where to publish.

the word check

Ways to Identify Predatory Journals

  • Journal title mirrors the title of an established journal with one or two words being different
  • No ISSN or hijacked ISSN
  • No DOIs or fake DOIs
  • Journal is not discoverable or indexed in common academic databases
  • Offering expedited peer-review to get your article published quicker
  • Deceptive article processing charges (APCs) before publication
  • Not a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
  • Contact information uses personal or non-journal information
  • Description of manuscript handling process is lacking
  • Journal uses unprofessional language
  • Website contains spelling and grammatical errors
  • Journal is not published by a reputable organization, a known publisher, or a university press
  • Advertising is accepted

Methods to Check

Predatory publishers might claim to have ISSNs, DOIs, and database indexing on their websites, but under close scrutiny, you can see these claims are not supported.

https://thinkchecksubmit.org/journals/

If you were able to verify the journal's credentials, then it's time to submit your work!