Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Predatory Journals

In scientific publishing there even exist so-called predatory journals.

Predatory journals often abuse the idea of open access in their favor. Such journals are created primarily in order to collect publication fees from authors and generate profit, not in order to support and develop scientific communication.

Typical features of predatory journals

• Very short or fictitious peer review
• The quality of the articles is very low
• The offer to publish comes via e-mail
• Publication fees are usually communicated only after acceptance of the article
• Incorrect evaluation factors listed, non-existent metrics: Global Impact Factor, General Impact Factor, Eurasian Scientific Journal Index (ESJI)
• Incorrect ISSN indicated
• False information about journal being indexed in various indexes and databases
• Predatory journals or their publishers have similar names as renowned prestigious journals
• Imitating the website design of renowned journals
• Parasitism on well-known names (editorial boards often contain the names of well-known scientists without their knowledge, the same board for multiple journals)
• Non-specific contacts to the publisher, false information about the publisher’s address

How to avoid predatory journals

• be careful and cautious in the case of unsolicited offers for publication, typically e-mail invitations addressed to authors, regardless of their scientific interest,
• verify information about the impact factor of the journal in the Journal Citation Reports database,
• check the ISSN in the ROAD database,
• locate a publisher who must provide a specific address for their office,
• look for contacts for editors, verify that they are real people,
• study the description of the review process, which must be transparent,
• find out about publication fees,
• search the archive of the journal, which in the case of an open journal must be freely available, check the quality and content, focus of the published articles, whether they correspond to the profile of the journal,
• get references from colleagues,
• contact the library and ask for a journal quality evaluation.

Ask the library to evaluate the journal

Useful links

Think. Check. Submit

• a simple guide on how to know if the journal you have chosen is serious and credible for publishing research results

Cabell’s Journalytics and Predatory Reports

Cabell’s offers a database of predatory journals and publishers. Included are two lists, Journalytics and Predatory Reports.

Detailed description of this resource: Cabell’s Journalytics a Predatory Reports

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