Predatory journals

At present, there is no universally accepted, regularly updated list of predatory journals and publishers. There are various sites claiming to be successors of Jeffrey Beall, but every list of criteria has its critics – as can be seen in critical discussions of Beall’s list or the Cabells Predatory Reports blacklist.

It is important to remember that some signs of predatory journals may be somewhat subjective and opinions on specific journals might differ. Not all journals show all the signs of a predator, sometimes they exhibit only a few. Moreover, it is not always easy to discern whether one faces an intentional scam or rather a failure of the internal processes or the human factor in an otherwise honest service.

Identifying predatory journals

Predatory journals and publishers are often characterized by:

• Aggressive marketing practices: repeated unsolicited emails flattering a potential author and inviting them to submit a manuscript; offers to publish in journals in fields different from the one the recipient works in, and so on
• Promises of disproportionately fast publication (timeframes that do not allow for proper peer review)
• Missing or suspicious editorial board (members of the editorial board do not exist, are not qualified in the relevant field, or their names are used without their knowledge or consent)
• Low quality of published articles
• Unclear or misleading information about publication fees
• Use of false or misleading citation metrics or dubious indexes of uncertain origin that cannot be found or are not generally recognized
• False information about journal indexing in Web of Science, Scopus, and other reputable bibliographic databases
• Title or webpage trying to imitate renowned journals in the field

Avoiding predatory journals

• Beware of “hijacked journals”, i.e., journals impersonating a renowned journal, including its title, information about citation metrics, indexing, and address. Double-check the truthfulness of the information presented by the journal/publisher on their webpage. Look for information from multiple sources.
• Do not trust journals promising extremely fast publication (e.g., in the matter of days).
• A legitimate journal/publisher/conference organization team will always provide detailed information about their peer review process, fees (whether they are mandatory, how much they are), and formal requirements.
• Look for an institutional email address (not public domain email such as Gmail). The physical address of the publisher should be easy to find and should not be a P.O. Box or similar.
• If the journal claims to be indexed, check the indexing database to see if it is actually there. Use Web of Science or Scopus. Do not rely solely on search engines or databases with automatic indexation, such as Google Scholar, Crossref, WorldCat.
• Regarding the previous point: keep in mind that in some fields (especially humanities such as art studies, literary studies, etc.) and in some languages other than English, legitimate journals may not always be listed in Web of Science or (less commonly) in Scopus. This in itself does not make them predators.
• Check the ISSN to make sure it exists and belongs to the journal.
• Check the editors, editorial board members (if listed), and their publication histories.
• Read full texts to see if they are of good quality.
• Does the publisher follow COPE or OASPA guidelines? Is it in DOAJ?
• Ask your mentor/colleagues.

Tools you can use

• Think. Check. Submit. An initiative fighting against predatory journals; it provides an interactive checklist in multiple languages.
• Predatory Reports Criteria. Check the criteria used by the predatory journals blacklist of the Cabells company. The blacklist itself is available to subscribers only.
• 8 Ways to Identify a Questionable Open Access Journal. Instructions on how to identify questionable open access journals.
• Beall's List of Predatory Journals and Publishers. A copy of the original Beall’s list of predatory journals from the author’s discontinued blog. The website also contains a list of “misleading metrics” and hijacked journals (journals impersonating other, already existing journals).

Ask us

Please don’t hesitate to schedule an individual consultation or send us a message.

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Predatory publishers versus open access publishing

Gold open access for journals

Publishing in gold open access mode is a common practice used by legitimate journals and should not be confused with how predatory journals operate (see “Signs and identification” section). With Gold open access, authors (and sometimes national/institutional funders) pay an article processing charge for each article published in order to make the content freely available to the public – this alone is not a sign of a predatory journal.

Hybrid journals

Hybrid journals pursue a different publication model. Their entire contents are available to subscribers only, but their authors have the option to pay to make their articles open access. Some predatory journals try to capitalize on this model as well. Caution is therefore also advised when selecting journals with publishing models other than Gold open access.

• Learn more about Gold open access and other forms of open access.

How do I check whether an open access journal is legitimate?

Use the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) database to search for titles and information.

Web of Science and Scopus typically do not index predatory journals. If you find a journal is listed in either database, it should most likely be legitimate.

Predatory publishers who try to piggyback on open access journals usually fail to meet the basic guidelines and standards of scientific publishing set by reputable institutions.

Institutions that set standards and provide guidelines for legitimate publishers:

• Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines on Good Publication Practice

If unsure, always double-check with your mentor or colleagues.

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Many doctoral programs and universities in the Czech Republic require participation in international conferences for graduation. Predatory conference organizers know this and “prey” on unsuspecting students.

Identifying predatory conferences

• Aggressive marketing, especially by email
• No review of the abstracts
• Poor organization: organizers reply to questions late or do not reply at all; conferences are cancelled without refunding conference fees
• Abstracts accepted at the last-minute (even just a few days before the event)
• Very wide thematic focus (scope)
• Dubious or unclear identity of the conference organizers, links to a known predatory publisher
• Attractive location, emphasizing the tourist aspects over the scientific ones
• Conference titles including words such as “global” or “international” in an attempt to artificially boost the conference’s importance, or imitating already existing conferences
• Conference invitation and/or website full of grammatical errors

Avoiding predatory conferences

• Do I know the institution(s) organizing the conference? Are they trustworthy?
• Is it possible to find proceedings from previous years? What authors have contributed, are they renowned names in the field? A positive sign is if the proceedings from previous years are indexed in Web of Science or Scopus (but note that many good conferences are also not indexed there).
• What email address does the conference use? Public domain emails such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail can indicate a suspicious conference (although not always).
• Does the website clearly provide all the key information, such as the scope and conference fee(s)?
• Is there an editorial committee? Are members experts in the field?
• What is the time interval between abstract submission and acceptance? Predatory conferences often accept abstracts almost immediately, without proper review.
• If you are not sure, ask your mentor or colleagues about their experiences and opinions. If some information is unclear, try reaching out to the organizers with further questions.

Useful links

• Think. Check. Attend. A guide for the identification of predatory conferences, building on the “Think. Check. Submit.” initiative which focuses on predatory journals.
• Charles University Open Science Support Centre – Predatory conferences. Recommendations by the Charles University in Prague for identifying predatory conferences.
• How to spot a predatory conference, and what science needs to do about them: a guide. Practical tips and recommendations on how to avoid predatory conferences.
• What is it like to attend a predatory conference?. A recent report (July 2024) on what a real predatory conference looks like.
• Inside a “Fake” Conference: A Journey Into Predatory Science. A recent report (June 2024) on the workings of a predatory conference.

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University recommendations

• Czech Technical University in Prague Central Library – Predatory publishing – a guide created by the Central Library of the Czech Technical University in Prague
• Masaryk University in Brno – Predatory journals – a guide for identifying predatory journals published by the Masaryk University Open Science team
• Open Science Support Centre of the Charles University – Predatory publishing – a guide by the Central Library of the Charles University in Prague

General links

• Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences (Full Report in English) - a long and detailed report on predatory practices and possible solutions
• Guidelines on Good Publication Practice – rules of ethical behavior for scientific publishers put together by COPE
• Hijacked journals are still a threat — here’s what publishers can do about them – an article about fraudulent journals impersonating other journals
• Hijacked journals: what they are and how to avoid them – a blogpost about fraudulent journals impersonating other journals and how to identify them
• Predatory Journals Hit By 'Star Wars' Sting – an article about how academic journals were tested by being offered a nonsensical article containing, among other things, a monologue from a Star Wars film
• Predatory journals: no definition, no defence – a commentary on defining predatory journals, published in Nature
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing – rules put together by different OA publishers and published by OASPA
• Stop Predatory Practices – a Czech initiative focusing on predatory practices
• Think. Check. Submit. – a campaign to help researchers identify trustworthy journals

Videos

• Academic integrity – a recording of an NTK webinar about scientific ethics, including predatory journals
• Academic writing Q&A series – a series of NTK videos answering the most common questions about academic writing
• How predatory academic journals endanger science – a TedX Talk by Bradley Allf about the dangers of predatory publishing and his personal experience with a predatory journal
• How to find if a journal is predatory? Easy ways – a video recapitulation of the basic ways of identifying predatory journals
• Jeffrey Beall on Open Access Publishing: How publishers dupe authors – an interview with Jeffrey Beall
• Think. Check. Submit. – a video summary of the main points of the “Think. Check. Submit.” campaign
• Webinars for Early Career Researchers – recordings and slides from NTK webinars. Learn more about choosing a journal and attending a conference from the “My First Scientific Article” webinar

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