Predatory Publishing: Evaluating Journals

How to Evaluate Journals and Publishers

Some common things to look out for:

• Similar names to other major publishers, journals, 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"
• Promise a quick and easy turnaround; be wary of a promise to publish within a month
  • Consider how long or complicated it can be to properly read proposals and review pieces through a multi-step peer review and editing process
• Publishing house or organization's location is hidden or vaguely described
• Email and website use clumsy language with grammatical errors
• Email and website contain blurry and/or unprofessional images or branding identities
• Publishing house or 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 Editorial Boards or testimonials, to follow-up on
• Faculty and advisors have never heard of the journal or the overarching organization 
• Journal/publisher claims to be indexed in major scholarly databases, yet you can't find many (if any) from the years they claim to have been in business
• Articles' Impact Factors do not match the "prestigious" or "well-used" claims (see video below for information on Impact Factors)

Check out these resources for evaluating publishers and journals:

Checklist infographic courtesy of Editage Insights