Identifying predatory or pseudo-journals and conferences

What are predatory/pseudo-journals and conferences?

How prevalent are predatory/pseudo-journals and conferences?

How can you detect probable predatory/pseudo-journals and conferences?

Think. Check. Submit. is an international cross-industry initiative to help researchers identify trusted journals and publishers. Go to their website for more resources and a step-by-step checklist.

Think. Check. Attend. is a sister initiative to Think. Check. Submit. The website has resources on and a checklist to help researchers identify whether conferences are legitimate venues to attend or present research. 

What might be the consequences of submitting to a predatory or pseudo-journal?

References relating to predatory journals and conferences

Predatory journals - research and Information

Abalkina, A. (2021). Detecting a network of hijacked journals by its archive. Scientometrics126(8), 7123–7148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04056-0

‌Barker, T. H., Pollock, D., Stone, J. C., Klugar, M., Scott, A. M., Stern, C., Wiechula, R., Shamseer, L., Aromataris, E., Ross‐White, A., & Munn, Z. (2023). How should we handle predatory journals in evidence synthesis? A descriptive survey‐based cross‐sectional study of evidence synthesis experts. Research Synthesis Methods. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1613

Björk, B.-C., Kanto-Karvonen, S., & Harviainen, J. T. (2020). How Frequently Are Articles in Predatory Open Access Journals Cited. Publications8(2), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020017

Bohannon, J. (2013). Who’s Afraid of Peer Review? Science, 342(6154), pp.60–65. doi:10.1126/science.2013.342.6154.342_60.

Centre for Journalology. (n.d.). Centre for Journalology. https://www.ohri.ca//journalology/one-stop-shop-predatory-journals

Clark, A. M., & Thompson, D. R. (2016). Five (bad) reasons to publish your research in predatory journals. Journal of Advanced Nursing73(11), 2499–2501. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13090

Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences Learn more about IAP Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences. (n.d.). https://www.interacademies.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/1.%20Full%20report%20-%20English%20FINAL.pdf

Demonstrating the Advantage of Publishing Open Access with Wiley. (n.d.). Www.wiley.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://www.wiley.com/en-us/network/publishing/research-publishing/open-access/demonstrating-the-advantage-of-publishing-open-access-with-wiley

Elmore, S. A., & Weston, E. H. (2020). Predatory Journals: What They Are and How to Avoid Them. Toxicologic Pathology48(4), 019262332092020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192623320920209

‌Else, H. (2022). Hijacked-journal tracker helps researchers to spot scam websites. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01666-3

‌Grudniewicz, A., Moher, D., Cobey, K. D., Bryson, G. L., Cukier, S., Allen, K., Ardern, C., Balcom, L., Barros, T., Berger, M., Ciro, J. B., Cugusi, L., Donaldson, M. R., Egger, M., Graham, I. D., Hodgkinson, M., Khan, K. M., Mabizela, M., Manca, A., & Milzow, K. (2019). Predatory journals: no definition, no defence. Nature576(7786), 210–212. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03759-y

Megwalu, A. (n.d.). SJSU Research Guides: Predatory Journals & Questionable Conferences: Withdrawing from Predatory Journals. Libguides.sjsu.edu. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://libguides.sjsu.edu/c.php?g=944457&p=6918742

Memon, A. R. (2018). How to respond to and what to do for papers published in predatory journals? Science Editing5(2), 146–149. https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.140

Oreskes, N. (2022). Predatory Journals That Publish Shoddy Research Put People’s Lives at Risk. Scientific American. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0622-59

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 Medicine15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0785-9

Singh Chawla, D. (2020). Predatory-journal papers have little scientific impact. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00031-6

Systematic reviews in Trip and some unintended consequences. (2022, December 15). Trip Database Blog. https://blog.tripdatabase.com/2022/12/15/systematic-reviews-in-trip-and-some-unintended-consequences/

There is no black and white definition of predatory publishing. (2020, May 13). Impact of Social Sciences. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/05/13/there-is-no-black-and-white-definition-of-predatory-publishing

Tools

Think. Check. Submit. (n.d.). https://thinkchecksubmit.org

DOAJ. (2019). Directory of Open Access Journals. Doaj.org. https://doaj.org/

Ulrichsweb. (n.d.). Ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com. http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com

‌The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker. (2022, May 30). Retraction Watch. https://retractionwatch.com/the-retraction-watch-hijacked-journal-checker/

List of preprint servers: policies and practices across platforms. (n.d.). ASAPbio. https://asapbio.org/preprint-servers
 

Predatory conferences - research and Information

Ali, M. (2021). Predatory journals and conferences: Analysis of invitation emails from a single clinician-scientist’s inbox. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology69(12), 3389. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijo.ijo_2277_21

Brezgov, S. (2019, June 7). Proposed Criteria for Identifying Predatory Conferences. Scholarly Open Access 2022. https://scholarlyoa.com/proposed-criteria-for-identifying-predatory-conferences

Stoye E. (2018 August 6). Predatory conference scammers are getting smarter. Chemistry World. https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/predatory-conference-scammers-are-getting-smarter/3009263.article

Warden, A. M., Soteropulos, C. E., Eftekari, S. C., Nicksic, P. J., Dingle, A. M., & Poore, S. O. (2022). To Decline or Accept. Annals of Plastic Surgery89(1), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1097/sap.0000000000003180

What to Do About Fake and Predatory Conferences. (2019, October 1). PCMA. https://www.pcma.org/fake-predatory-conferences‌

T‌ools

Think Check Attend -. Think Check Attend. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://thinkcheckattend.org