There is not one fool proof way to determine if a journal is predatory. It requires a bit of detective work. Here are additional warning signs :
- Publishing costs and fees are not openly disclosed or easy to locate - It's standard practice to let authors know the cost of publication before submission. This is part of the OASPA Code of Conduct.
- The peer-review process is not clearly explained or is not to discipline standards - Beware of promises of quick peer review as this can be the mark of a publisher who values profit over quality. There is concern that papers submitted to journals which advertise this type of service are not actually providing peer review.
- Advertises a Journal Impact Factor but doesn't have one - Check the Journal Citation Reports in the A - Z databases from which you can look up trademarked Journal Impact Factors as calculated by Clarivate Analytics. It takes only a moment to check!
- The publisher or journal's name is suspiciously similar to other well-known publications - For example: Nature Advances kind of sounds like it's associated with Nature Publishing Group and the well-known journal Nature, but is it? If you are unsure it's a good idea to check the publisher's website and make sure both journals are published by the same group.
Resources to check for suspicious activity:
If all else fails...
You can try contacting a member of the editorial board of the journal, seek a second opinion from a peer with publishing experience.
Source : Iowa State University
