SEC (MA in Social Entrepreneurship and Change): Predatory Journals

Predatory or deceptive publishing are terms describing publishers or entities that exploit authors by charging publication fees (commonly known as article processing charges) yet don’t deliver on their promise of the editorial and publishing services (such as peer review) that are associated with legitimate publishers. Deceptive publishers typically prey on a researcher’s need to publish in order to get an academic appointment, gain promotion, or achieve tenure.

These publishers often engage in deceptive and unethical business practices and make false claims about a journal’s impact factor, indexing, high standards, and peer review.

Why You Should Avoid Predatory Journals

• Your work may be subject to second-rate peer review
• Your work work could disappear if the publisher goes out of business
• Predatory journals are not usually indexed in academic databases, thus decreasing the readership and impact of your work
• Predatory or deceptive journals may serve as an outlet for plagiarized material or fabricated results
• The journal's bad reputation may be extended to the authors, their institutions, or even the entire field or discipline

Why Do Authors Publish in a Predatory Journal?

Authors generally don't want to be exploited by an online scam, but it can happen if an author is:

• Unfamiliar with the journal’s field
• New to research/publishing in general
• Feels pressure to publish (for Tenure, Promotion, and Retention considerations)
• Feels pressure to publish quickly

Ways to Identify Predatory Journals

• Rapid publication is promised
• The homepage language targets authors
• The journal does not have clear policies on retraction, corrections/errata, or plagiarism (see the ICMJE Recommendations for more detailed discussion about best practices)
• Description of the manuscript handling process is lacking
• The contact email address is non-professional and non-journal related
• Manuscripts are requested to be submitted by email instead of through an online submission system
• Journals claiming to be open access either retain copyright of published research or fail to mention copyright
• Article processing and/or publication charge is very low (e.g. < $150)
• Information on whether and how journal content will be archived and preserved is absent
• Scope of journal is not clear
• Website contains spelling and grammatical errors

(Adapted from Shamseer, L., Moher, D., Maduekwe, O., Turner, L., Barbour, V., Burch, R., Clark, J., Galipeau, J., Roberts, J., & Shea, B.J. (2017). Potential predatory and legitimate biomedical journals: can you tell the difference? A cross-sectional comparison. BMC Medicine 15(1) 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0785-9.)

Other Red Flags

• No ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)
• Not indexed by MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, or other legitimate abstracting or indexing services or databases
• Journal title mirrors the title of an established journal with one or two words being different
• Journal is not published by reputable or known publisher
• Journal sends unsolicited email invitations for submissions, reviewers, or to serve on its editorial board
• Looks like a trade journal, not a scholarly journal
• Advertising is accepted

Before You Submit

Ask the following:

• Is the journal published by an established publisher or recognized professional society?
• Do you recognize the name of the editor-in-chief or members of the editorial board? Are they experts in your field of research?
• Does the journal provide a sample of the Copyright Transfer Agreement on its website?
• Is the publication schedule clear and consistent?
• Are the journal’s Aim and Scope clearly stated?
• Does the journal post a statement about its ethical practice? Does it appear to adhere to Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing?
• Is the publisher a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) or the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM)?
• Is the journal listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)? Is the publisher a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)?