Predatory OA Journals
Predatory open access journals exist for the sole purpose of profit. They charge authors substantial fees to publish their research but do not provide quality services (e.g. peer-review, editing, and marketing). Predatory publishers invite researchers to submit a publication to their journal or conference via unsolicited emails. These publishers have no interest in the free exchange of knowledge and resources in order to widen access and stimulate creativity. Here are a few quick things to check if you think you might be dealing with a predatory publisher :
- Are they indexed in scholarly databases? Check popular databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, or Proquest to see if the journal is indexed. Predatory journals will usually not appear in scholarly databases.
- Does the journal appear in the DOAJ? If the journal appears in the DOAJ, it's more likely that it is a legitimate open access journal.
- Who is the editor and who is on the editorial board? The journal should be transparent about the membership of their editorial board, and the members of the board should be established and reputable.
- Are their contact details publicly available? Their contact details should be publicly available and should include an address for their offices.
- Are they transparent about their publishing costs? A legitimate open access journal will be transparent about their publishing charges. If there is no information publicly available about these costs, you may be dealing with a predatory publisher.
- Check this list of predatory publishers from Beall's List. If a journal or publishers is included in this list, it's more likely that they may be a predatory publisher
