DREAM Scholars: Predatory Publishing

Questions to Ask that May Indicate a Predatory Publisher

Questions to Ask about the Editors

• Does the journal have an editorial board?
• Are their editorial board members listed?
• If there are editorial board members listed, are they affiliated with an institution?
• Are the editors established within their respective fields?
• Can you find contact information for the editor?

Questions to Consider about Authors

• Is there an information for authors page?
• If the journal claims that it is indexed in PubMed, can you find it by searching PubMed?
• Is there information regarding reporting guidelines and the peer-review process on their website?
• Can you find information on informed consent, conflict of interest statements, or other ethical research procedures?
• Are the journals Aim and Scope clearly stated?

Questions to Consider about the Website

• Does the journal have a reliable and usable website?
• Does the journal website have misspelling, grammatical errors, or broken links?
• Can you find advertising on their website?
• Does the website look reputable?

Questions to Ask about the Publisher and Fees

• Does the publisher seem reputable? Are they charging a fee to publish?
• Can you find a physical address for the publisher?
• If a publisher publishes several journal titles, do they all have few articles and irregular publication schedules?
• Are there promises for swift publication? If so, does the journal charge a fee before the article is submitted for peer review?

Questions to ask about the Journal Title & Articles

• When looking at the articles the journal has published are there DOIs?
• Do the articles have misspellings or grammatical errors?
• Are the articles pertinent to the journals aim and scope?
• Does the research showcased in the journal follow standard guidelines for the reporting of research?
• Are all the articles published by the same author?
• Can you find an Editor-in-Chief? If so, is there contact information available?
• Does the journal have an ISSN?

Tools for Identifying Predatory Publishers

Open Access is NOT Predatory Publishing

Open Access (OA) is the practice of providing the public with unrestricted online access to scholarly journal articles.

ADVANTAGES

• Freely available resources can mean a wider audience. If your article is freely available then more people can read your work.  
• Authors often retain copyright, which is not usually the case in traditional publishing.
• OA is a global initiative. Individuals who may have not been able to access you work through traditional means, may have access via OA.

DISADVANTAGES

• Some OA journals charge author fees to publish. Fees vary. Note: Sometimes there are publishing options (e.g., Taylor and Francis Gold Open Access vs. Green Open Access). One option may be free while the other has a fee.
• Concerns about quality control and authenticity of documents.
• Open Access journals are relatively new, and therefore may not have an impact factor. This can be especially important to researchers in science and medicine.

If you are interested in publishing in an OA journal consider using the Directory of Open Access Journals. These journals have been vetted and are authoritative.

Still need help with OA?

Contact the Medical Center Library (859) 323-5300, or Lauren Robinson @ laurene.robinson@uky.edu .