Predatory journals take advantage of researchers, faculty, students, and other authors by luring them to publish in a questionable journal. Some key characteristics of questionable journals are:
- No editor listed, no review board listed, or insufficient number of board members.
- Contact information for journal is unclear or does not give a real address or phone number.
- Publishes a large set of unrelated journals.
- Incomplete or missing information about publication and open access fees.
- Solicits authors and reviewers via spam emails.
- Little or no copyediting, proofreading, or peer review for articles.
- Uses logos and other credible resources to imply credibility.
- Steals legitimate journals’ identities and content.
- Provides misleading or fake metrics.
More information:
Open Access Journal Quality Indicators
