Evaluating Journals for Quality and Legitimacy

It is important to know what information to look for to help you identify whether a particular publisher is likely to be engaging in predatory practices. Carefully reviewing the topics listed below and using this information to evaluate a publication can help you determine whether or not a journal may be predatory or legitimate.

Scope of Journal - Does the journal’s website feature a clearly defined scope outlining the type of content the journal is looking to publish? Or is it vague, poorly defined, or very broad?  Legitimate journals will likely have a well-defined scope outlining the journal’s purpose and publishing parameters. 

Peer Review Process - Does the publisher explain the peer-review or refereeing process and is the peer-review timeline realistic?  Legitimate journals will present their peer review process on their websites.  Unfortunately, many predatory publishers will also claim to offer peer-review.  Look for information about the publishing time-frame.  If a journal is advertising a rapid review process and quick publication timelines, it is extremely likely they are a predatory publisher.   

Publication Fees – Does the journal’s website clearly state their publication fees if they charge them?  Legitimate open access journals which require the payment of an article processing charge will clearly post their publication fees in an accessible location for potential authors to find before submitting a manuscript for review.  These fees should be clearly explained and many legitimate publications are transparent about what these fees cover. Also, if a particular journal lists fees which are unusually low in comparison to other publications in a similar subject the journal may be predatory.

Editorial Board – Do you recognize the names of any professionals serving on the editorial board?  Are the names provided experts in the subject of the publication?  Legitimate journals will provide the names, institutional affiliation, and sometimes even the contact information for members of the editorial board and review board.  Reviewing the names of an editorial board is an important first step in vetting this info, however, it may also be necessary to research the posted members of the board as well.  Sadly, many predatory publishers have been populating their board information with lists of names of scholars that may or may not be professionals in that field. These scholars may be legitimate, but may not know that their name is being used by this publisher and they may not be affiliated with the journal.  If possible, research the editor(s) and see if they share their involvement with the publication within their own professional information such as on their CV or on their professional website.

Journal Articles – Are the published journal articles within the scope of the publication?  It is a good idea to read some of the articles being published in a journal for which you may submit a manuscript for publication.  Articles published by the journal should fit within it’s stated scope.  It can also be helpful to review the number of articles they are publishing.  Publishing a high number of papers every year may be an indicator a publisher is predatory and not following ethical peer-review and editorial processes. 

OASPA, COPE, DOAJ – Is the publisher a member of an ethical publishing organization or has their journal been accepted into the Directory of Open Access Journals?  A publisher that is a registered member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), or has had their journal accepted into the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), is more likely to be a legitimate publication.  Publishers which have been admitted into these organizations have successfully completed a rigorous application process and have been judged against strict criteria to confirm they follow ethical publication practices.  Some predatory journals or publishers will indicate that they are members of the OASPA, COPE, or that they have been accepted into the DOAJ without actually being members of those groups.  It is important to verify a publisher’s membership or affiliation with these organizations on that organization's official website.  It is also important to remember that a publisher may not be a member of OASPA or not have their journal accepted into the DOAJ and still be a high-quality, legitimate publication.  Many legitimate publishers have not applied for membership, or have not been accepted into these organizations.

Journal Sponsor or Publisher – Is the journal hosted by a University or published by an established academic or scholarly institution?  Publications that are hosted by Universities or published by scholarly organizations such as AMA, IEEE, APA, etc., are unlikely to be predatory.

Ulrichsweb – Is the journal registered in the Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory?  The Ulrichsweb directory is an excellent starting point to identify a journal and find initial information on whether the publication is refereed or peer-reviewed.  Ulrichsweb contains the titles of hundreds of thousands of periodicals of all types, including scholarly journals, and provides authoritative information for each publication.  Journal information provided includes information about how long the journal has been published, whether or not it is refereed, and which abstracting and indexing services include the journal.   

Copyright – Does the journal let authors maintain copyright ownership of their articles?  Open access journals typically allow authors to retain copyright ownership to their scholarship and will use an open license to make the article accessible online.  A journal which claims to be open access but the publisher takes copyright ownership of an article, or does not mention a copyright policy altogether, could be a predatory publication.

Excessive Advertisements on Homepage – Are there excessive advertisements on the journal website or does the journal seem targeted towards authors and attempting to solicit contributions?  Predatory publishers may target authors on their homepage.  They may have excessive images or information on their main page trying to get authors to contribute content instead of showcasing the content that has been published.  Legitimate publications tend to have a website presence with a homepage geared toward researchers and practitioners as opposed to overt attempts to solicit papers from authors.

Look of Website Seems Off – Does the look of the website seem “off” and not reflect a scholarly publication?  Not all journals that have bad layouts or are lacking a design element are predatory.  However, journals that have fuzzy images, numerous spelling or grammatical errors, and incomplete sections on their website may be predatory.  Sometimes a predatory journal will paste logos of reputable organizations on its website in an attempt to appear legitimate.  If the publication is truly affiliated with the displayed organization then the logo should link to the displayed organization's website where the affiliation can be verified.

Please note that there will likely be no single criterion that indicates whether a publication is reputable or predatory.  It is important to evaluate many of these factors and look for a cumulative effect of positive indicators to identify a journal as legitimate or negative factors to identify a journal as predatory.

Positive Indicators (Characteristics of Legitimate Journals)

• Scope of the journal is well-defined and clearly stated
• Journal’s primary audience is researchers and practitioners
• Editor and editorial board are recognized experts in the field
• Journal is affiliated with or sponsored by an established scholarly society or academic institution
• Published articles are within the scope of the journal and meet the standards of the discipline
• Fees or charges for publishing in the journal are easily found on the journal website and clearly explained
• Publisher is a member of Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association
• Journal is listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals
• Journal is registered in Ulrichsweb.com, Global Serials Directory and is listed as refereed
• Journal clearly indicates rights for use and re-use of content at article level (e.g., Creative Commons CC BY license)
• Articles have DOIs (Digital Object Identifier, e.g., doi:10.1111/j.1742-9544.2011.00054.x)
• Journal is included in subject databases and/or indexes

Negative Indicators (Characteristics of Predatory Publications)

• Journal website is difficult to locate or identify
• Publisher “About” information is absent on the journal’s website
• Publisher direct marketing (i.e., spamming) or other advertising is obtrusive
• Instructions for authors information is not available
• Information on peer review and copyright is absent, unclear, or describes an unrealistic time-frame for peer review to occur
• Journal scope statement is absent or extremely vague
• Rapid publication is promised
• No information is provided about the publisher, or the information provided does not clearly indicate a relationship to a mission to disseminate research content
• Repeat lead authors in same issue
• Multiple spelling and grammatical errors
• Publication fees are hard to find and/or excessively low

These indicators are adapted by information provided by Grand Valley State University Libraries