Scholarly Publishing

The rise of predatory journals presents a significant challenge. They exploit the academic need to publish by charging authors fees without providing legitimate peer review, proper editorial services, or the expected visibility and preservation of reputable journals. Publishing in such journals can severely damage your academic reputation, hinder future publication efforts, and result in your work being largely unread, uncited, and unpreserved.

The Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences Report outlines the prevalence and impact of predatory academic journals and conferences.

Key Characteristics of Predatory Journals:

• Aggressive and unsolicited email invitations to submit papers, often outside your field of expertise.
• Names that mimic well-known, reputable journals.
• Websites that lack professionalism, contain grammatical errors, or provide vague or false information about their editorial board, location, or indexing.
• Promises of unrealistically rapid peer review and publication.
• A lack of transparency regarding article processing charges (APCs) or information about these fees only appearing after acceptance.
• Claims of indexing in prestigious databases that are untrue or refer to metrics that are not widely recognised.
• Poor quality or irrelevant articles published in previous issues.

The Think. Check. Submit. initiative provides a detailed checklist and further guidance. It encourages you to:

• Think: Are you submitting to a trusted journal? Is it the right journal for your work?
• Check: Use their checklist to assess the journal. This includes verifying if you or your colleagues know the journal, if the publisher is easily identifiable and contactable, if the peer review process is clearly described and robust, if articles are indexed in services you and your colleagues use, and if all fees are transparent and clearly stated.
• Submit: Only when you are confident in the journal's credibility.