Predatory Publishers and Conferences

Predatory publishing is the unethical practice exploiting the "author pays" publishing model to earn revenue. Predatory publishers typically do not follow accepted scholarly publishing practice. The goal is to convince scholars to submit their work to make money for the publisher, rather than contribute to the scholarly record.This practice can lead to financial loss due to inappropriate fees and can be damaging to the author's reputation.

1. Website and contact information are odd and poorly written
2. Scope of subject matter is too diverse
3. Claims to be indexed but not in major databases such as Medline or CINAHL
4. Editorial board is not identifiable or areas of expertise do not match the scope of the journal
5. Not affiliated with an association or known group
6. Article Processing Charge (APC) is exorbitant or not clearly stated
7. Processing timeline is too rapid with no time for peer review
8. Has fake or misrepresented Impact Factors

 A coalition of scholarly publishers and associations collaborated to create this short checklist for authors to refer to when evaluating a journal as a possible place of publication for his research. By asking a few short questions and evaluating the journal according to the checklist, authors can be assured that the journal they are considering, whether subscription based or open access, will be one of quality, rigor, and respect.

Think:

Check:

Submit: