Issues in Open Access: Predatory or Deceptive Journals
Predatory or Deceptive Journals
One problem associated with the "author pays" model of Open Access publishing is "predatory" or "deceptive" journals. It can be complicated to describe what makes a journal predatory, but here is one definition (from Grudniewicz et al. (2019). Predatory journals: No definition, no defence. Nature, 576(7786), 210–212. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03759-y):
Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices.
Deceptive practices take many forms, such as
- Listing editorial board members who do not exist or who have not agreed to serve.
- Using titles that are similar to titles of established journals.
- Misrepresenting a journal's metrics, such as its impact factor.
- Collecting publishing fees from authors but neglecting proper peer review and other best practices.
In addition to being unethical, these practices result in the publication of unreliable, flawed, and even fraudulent scholarship.
Identifying deceptive journals
It's important to remember that some of the characteristics associated with predatory journals, such as the lack of an address for a physical office location, or the lack of a policy on digital preservation, can also be associated with journals that conduct legitimate peer review but are under-resourced. They may be run by scholarly societies instead of established publishers, or they may be based in lower-income countries. In some cases it can be hard to say whether a journal is clearly deceptive. So how can you avoid these journals?
Use your judgement
If a journal seems questionable, you can perform your own due diligence. A great resource to help with this is Think. Check. Submit. They provide a checklist of questions to ask about journals which can help you to make your evaluation. This can be time-consuming, but it provides a process you can use to evaluate any journal at the time you are considering it.
Refer to other resources
There is no definitive list of journals neatly separated into "legitimate" and "deceptive." But there are resources that can provide quick indications to help your evaluation.
- Cabell's Directories of Publishing Opportunities provides two products to which the library subscribes:
- Journalytics provides a searchable database of journal titles with metrics, submission guidelines, peer review information, and contact information.
- Predatory Reports lists thousands of journals whose practices suggest they may be predatory. In the interests of objectivity and transparency, Cabell's lists the criteria it uses to evaluate journals and the violations that cause each journal to be listed.
- ULRICHSWeb Global Serials Directory provides information on thousands of journals. If a journal does not appear in Ulrich's, or it does not have the "refereed" symbol indicating that it is peer-reviewed, it may need careful evaluation.
- There are several publishers' organizations committed to quality in publication. Check to see if a journal's publisher is a member of any of these groups: