Similar to evaluating publishers and journals, these are some common things to look out for:
- Similar names to other major publishers or professional organizations
- Note what might be appealing to someone depending on their academic level, geographic location, or their field's prestige -- is it "international" or "British"
- Personalized email invitations with clumsy language and/or lack of information
- Promise of a quick and easy turnaround for submission and approval
- Consider how long or complicated it can be to properly read proposals and review pieces through a multi-step peer review process and scheduling presentations
- Organization's location is hidden and/or only has vague information on the current or previous conferences
- Email and website use clumsy language with grammatical errors
- Email and website contain blurry and/or unprofessional images or branding identities
- Previous conference proceedings aren't available online or indexed in academic databases
- Conference fees and structures are hidden, vague, or exorbitantly high (to ensure high profit margin)
- Conference or overarching organization's contact information is hidden or connected to an unprofessional, un-customized email address (e.g. @gmail or @yahoo)
- There are no representatives connected to a major academic institution, such as conference committees, review boards, or testimonials, to follow-up on
- Faculty and advisors have never heard of the conference or the overarching organization
