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Predatory Journals

Guidelines for Choosing a Journal

In addition to reviewing familiar professional titles and speaking with colleagues, authors should consider these journal qualities before submitting an article for publication.

Qualities to consider Sources for answers
  • Does my article manuscript match the subject scope of this journal?
  • Who is the publisher?
  • When did the journal begin publication?
  • How frequently is the journal published?
  • Is the journal refereed?
  • Is the journal open-access?
  • What is the official website for this journal?
  • What databases (if any) index the contents of that journal?
  • What databases (if any) include the full-text of that journal's articles?
  • Is the journal indexed in Google Scholar?
  • Is the journal indexed in Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)?
  • Google Scholar
    -- Use the Advanced Search to search by journal title - "return articles published in..."
  • DOAJ --DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
  • What is the acceptance rate for articles submitted for publication?
  • What impact factors (if any) have been assessed for that journal?
  • What fee (if any) is the author required to pay prior to publication? NOTE: This is increasingly common for open-access publications.
  • If author's fees are required, is the journal associated with an OASPA-member publisher? (a positive attribute)
  • What rights or copyright terms does the author retain by publishing in this journal (i.e. can the author legally post a copy on a personal website or institutional repository?)
  • Use SHERPA/RoMEO to search by journal title or ISSN and find a summary of author's rights for that publication.
  • Locate the journal's official website using Ulrich's Global Serials Directory to view author's rights and copyright terms.
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