The widespread availability of open-access journals across the web has made it convenient for researchers to search for and access the journals they require. Many academicians and researchers aim to publish their work in open-access journals, as this offers the benefit of increased visibility and also allows easier and more efficient dissemination. However, researchers must be cautious, given the huge uptick of predatory titles present today.
Therefore, it is essential to be vigilant and take adequate precautions when sending manuscripts to journals for publication. Predatory journals are increasingly challenging the integrity and legitimacy of rigorous academic research. Researchers and authors must be alert both while browsing these journals and inadvertently submitting their work to them. The following checklist will be helpful in this regard.
Checklist for Authors
Various resources can be utilized to assess the credibility of open-access journals. First, check if the journal is registered with the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The DOAJ indexes only those journals that have met its evaluation criteria and follow the Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing.
The latter is a collaborative effort of the Committee on Publication Ethics, DOAJ, Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, and the World Association of Medical Editors. Since the journals have to pass strict criteria for joining the DOAJ, such journals can be safely considered credible and reputable to publish your work.
You can also check for journals that are members of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA). This organization strives to ensure best practices in open access worldwide. Journals must pass a strict review to become members of OASPA and maintain high standards to retain their membership.
While evaluating the quality of the open access journals, you can also refer to the ‘Think – Check – Submit’ checklist to check if these follow journal guidelines. This process of evaluating the authenticity of a journal will help you to assess whether it is suited for your research.
The following is a checklist that you can use to determine the quality of the open access journal. However, keep in mind that you cannot assess the credibility of a journal using only one or two of the criteria mentioned. You need to have an overall assessment based on the existing resources and checklist criteria.
General Standard Indicators
There are some general and standard indicators that you need to check while assessing the quality of an open access journal. To start with, ask yourself the following questions –
- Have you or your colleagues heard about the journal before?
- What are the aims and scope of the journal? Are these defined clearly?
- Does the journal charge a fee? If yes, is it clearly specified on their webpage?
- Does the journal have an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)?
- Do all the articles have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)?
- Is the journal listed with DOAJ?
- Is the publisher a member of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) or OASPA, or does the journal follow the guidelines of COPE?
- Is the journal sponsored or produced by a reputed organization or academic institution?
- Does the journal follow a peer review process? If yes, have they specified the nature of the peer review that they undertake?
- Are the members of the editorial board listed on the journal website? Do the web pages of the editorial board members specify their affiliation to the journal?
- Is the website updated?
- Is information about the copyright provided?
- Does the webpage provide the publisher’s physical address, phone number, and email address?
- Are researchers and practitioners the primary audience of the journal?
- Is information provided on the journal’s policy to deal with conflicts of interest with regard to authors, editors, and reviewers?
Cautious Aspects to be Considered
The following are some aspects that you need to be wary of as it may signal a predatory journal.
- There is no contact information for the publisher on the journal web page.
- The journal’s aims and scope are not provided or are vague.
- The peer review process has not been mentioned.
- Authors are repeated.
- There is no information about copyrights and author’s rights.
- It isn’t easy to locate the journal’s website.
- The journal is not listed among any recognized initiatives such as DOAJ, COPE, and OASPA.
Being aware of the red flags associated with predatory journals is equally essential to safeguard the rigor and validity of one’s research. Ultimately, taking the time to carefully assess journals benefits the individual researcher and contributes to the overall health and trustworthiness of the scholarly publishing ecosystem.
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