Publishing Open Access
Predatory publishing

What is Predatory publishing?

Predatory publishing involves unethical practices by certain publishers and journals. These publishers entice authors to pay fees to publish their articles in supposedly academic journals, but provide little to no quality assurance, such as peer review or proper editing. Additionally, there is no guarantee of reliable long-term availability of the articles. We strongly advise against submitting articles to such journals.

Identifying questionable journals can be challenging, but the following criteria may help:

• Receiving numerous non-personalized emails soliciting publications
• Lack of a proper peer review process
• No clear description of the manuscript review process
• The journal's subject area is vague or inappropriate
• The journal’s design and title mimic those of reputable journals
• The publisher uses a generic email domain
• No respected scholars contribute to the journal
• Insufficient information on publication fees (Article Processing Charge) on the journal’s website
• The journal is NOT listed in the Web of Science database
• The journal's website contains broken links, spelling errors, and incorrect information about the editorial board, impact factors, ISSN, etc.

If one or more of these criteria are present, consider submitting your paper to a different journal.

A checklist for identifying trustworthy journals and publishers can be found on the Think. Check. Submit. Additionally,  Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) lists only those journals that follow quality assurance procedures.

Beware of fraudulent offers not only for publications but also for conferences  The website  Think.Check.Attend provides guidance on avoiding submission to so-called ‘predatory conferences.’