6 ways to spot a Predatory Journal:

1. Always check the website thoroughly

2. Check if the journal is a member of DOAJ, COPE, OASPA or STM

3. Check the journal’s contact information

4. Research the editorial board

5. Take a look at their peer review process and publication timelines

6. Read through past issues of the journal

source:

https://www.rxcomms.com/blog/6-ways-spot-predatory-journal/

U can look here https://www.rxcomms.com/blog/6-ways-spot-predatory-journal/

https://predatoryjournals.com/journals/

This can be known by following the lists of such journals on trusted sites,

and through checking Scopus and web of science lists of journals.

Recognising a predatory journal can often be difficult. The advice above, checking that it is not on a trust predatory journals list, or checking that it is listed on trusted indexes (i.e. Scopus, Web of Science) are good ways of helping to identify if a journal is predatory or not. However, just because a journal isn't listed on a trusted index does not necessary mean that it is predatory. There are many well established journals that are not indexed on these sites (my experience has been that this is somewhat field dependant as well). Conversely, predatory journals won't make it onto a predatory journal list straight away. Conducting a web search about the journal and reading feedback from people that have had interactions with the journal before (especially those who have published in it) can be a helpful way to help identify if it is predatory or not.

There are several different terms used to describe these journals and publishing operations, and different ways in which the key problems with them can manifest:

• ‘Predatory’ was coined to describe the aggressive business practice, and has stuck, in part because it sounds catchy, but does not appropriately differentiate the behaviour of these journals from other commercial publishers.
• ‘Fake’ is somewhat misleading, as these journals will host the articles they receive, so are not effectively ‘fake’, and the term doesn’t reach the true problems. However, some journals do pose as legitimate journals, and can indeed be described as fake.
• ‘Deceptive’ is a more accurate indication of the underlying issues, and the key unethical behaviours exhibited by these titles.
• ‘Shell’ is also appropriate, as it describes the lack of support and infrastructure behind the front of the journal website.

The two most important characteristic to recognize are:

PEER REVIEW Claims of a thorough peer review process are made, but there is no evidence that any peer review is carried out. There is no evidence of selectivity or screening based on editorial or quality checks as all submissions appear to be accepted.

As well as advertising peer review, these journals often offer very rapid peer review times of under a week, or rapid peer review service where additional payments can be made for a faster decision.

EDITORS/EDITORIAL BOARD

• The editorial boards of deceptive journals often feature people who have not consented to be on the board.
• The members may not be discoverable at the affiliations listed in their board entries.
• For publishers with multiple journals, individuals may be featured on the boards of a large number of titles, some of which may not be in similar fields.

AFFILIATION Similar to the co-opting of individuals, predatory journals may also state or imply they are affiliated with prestigious institutions and organisations, without their knowledge or consent.

More: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_to_recognise_predatory_journals?isAnswerFieldFocused=true

It is sometimes difficult.

Normally these are journals without any recognition either inclusion in any important database. They ask for payment and publish your paper in five days, for sure without peer review.

They also talk about an impact factor based on google scholar that is not valid.

All of them have a particular characteristic that is sending emails to your personal account announcing them.

The list of these journals is huge.

Thanks a lot for your comment and contribution.

Well, you can look straight in https://beallslist.net/ , if it's not there, I'd suggest checking the Scopus database: https://www.scopus.com/sources?zone=TopNavBar&origin=AuthorProfile

Cheers

Dear @

Please go through the below mentioned links:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330561047_Predatory_journals_A_threat_to_evidence-based_science

https://www.researchgate.net/post/List_of_Predatory_Journals_2019

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_a_Predatory_Journal

https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_can_I_check_for_predatory_journals

https://www.researchgate.net/post/A_new_site_listing_predatory_journals_What_do_you_think_of_it

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Predatory_journals_what_are_the_parameters

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341482276_Predatory_Journals_A_Literature_Review

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303980982_Predatory_journals_Ban_predators_from_the_scientific_record

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Dear Sandip Kumar Gupta The following points are helpful:

- Check Beall's list of predatory journals.

- If you get an acceptance without any review or comments, it means the journal is probably a predatory journal.

I conquer with Fady suggestion. For me I have always used Beall's list of predatory journals to check the authenticity......

A predatory journal is a publication that actively asks researchers for manuscripts. They have no peer review system and no true editorial board and are often found to publish mediocre or even worthless papers. They also ask for huge publication charges. While submitting the research paper, first check the history of the Journal and the other details like editorial board, directory, OA, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), Publisher’s membership of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical -Publishers (STM).

I think it is difficult

Dear Sandip Kumar Gupta please be aware of the fact that this is by far not the first time that this question has been asked on RG. Many researchers fond this topic interesting. They will always suggest to check out Beall's list of predatory journals, which is quite useful. As correctly mentioned by Arbind K. Choudhary there are numerous previous threads on RG dealing with predatory journals and how to avoid them.

From my personal experience I can tell you that unlike serious journals the predatory ones send you e-mails "begging" for contributions. They normally begin with "Greetings of the day!" and then they tell you that they are short of one article to publish their next issue. They have no peer review and don't mention the costs before you have submitted. Thus try hard to stay away from them!

Article Predatory Journals: What They Are and How to Avoid Them

Dear Bushra Mahmood Alwan "I think it is difficult": Personally I never found it difficult to distinguish between serious journals and predatory ones. For example, you could ask senior colleagues to suggest you a number of high-ranked journals. It is useful to regularly read these journals anyway to keep up with the latest developments in your field. Soon you will find that these journals have good impact factors and you will find that well-known researchers in your field publish their papers in these journals. None of these serious journals will ever send you e-mails asking for publications because they normally receive more manuscripts than they eventually publish.

Dear Frank T. Edelmann ,

Sure, in most cases it is not that difficult, however using for example the Beall’s list as suggested multiple times in these type of discussions (https://beallslist.net/ ), you can come up with to say the least ‘borderline’ cases. What to think about:

-Frontiers journals (https://www.frontiersin.org/ ), this publisher is mentioned in the Beall’s list while I personally think this one should not be included (anymore) looking at the (real) impact factors for most of their journals and talking about well-known researchers’ numerous examples can be found in their journals

-Bentham Open (https://benthamopen.com/ ), another publisher mentioned in the Beall’s list and indeed notorious for their ‘begging’ mails. Perhaps not the highest quality journals but a substantial number of their journals have serious indexing (https://benthamopen.com/indexing-agencies.php ) including ESCI, PubMed and Scopus

-And what about a journal published by a publisher included in the Beall’s list like for example “Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science”. A journal with decent looking papers and a (Q3) Scopus indexing (CiteScore 1.1) and indexed in Cabell’s whitelist (https://www.foodandnutritionjournal.org/ ). Or take a journal like “Archives of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences” (https://www.sryahwapublications.com/archives-of-psychiatry-and-behavioral-sciences/ ) I see some well-established names here on RG publishing in this journal while the publisher is included in the Beall’s list.

In other words, as argued recently:

Tsigaris, P., & da Silva, J. A. T. (2020). Why blacklists are not reliable: A theoretical framework. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 102266.

the blacklist is not always right, and a more thorough judgement is required which is then not that easy and might be even called difficult…

Best regards.

Also check the link below for further information.

https://www.aje.com/arc/8-ways-identify-questionable-open-access-journal/?utm_source=American+Journal+Experts+List&utm_campaign=f5d5c73348-holiday2020_EN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd7c932b5e-f5d5c73348-233861745

I don't think there is a direct way to do so. In fact, you can check some popular websites and lists that identify these journals such as Beall's list, but many other predatory publishers and journals are not included in these lists because they might recently established or some other reasons.

And also keep in mind that these lists and websites are not 100% accurate!!

Beall's list at the University of Denver was taken down some years ago under threat of a large lawsuit from Omics, a publisher Beall had labelled as predatory. Beall's list has been replaced by another list, the name of which I am not sure. While one can never be sure, journals and publishers that would be generally considered "predatory" tend to not be indexed at PubMed or Scopus, send out frequent emails inviting authors, and invite you to speak regularly at their "conferences."

Dear Sandip Kumar Gupta my personal, rather old-fashioned advice would be to regularly read the 10-20 leading journals in your field. I mean the journals in which the best-known researchers in your discipline publish their work. If you are not sure which these journals are, ask a senior faculty member who used to read the printed versions of these journals in the university library. Then submit your own work to one of these journals and you don't ever have to worry about predatory journals.

6 ways to spot a Predatory Journal:

1. Always check the website thoroughly

2. Check if the journal is a member of DOAJ, COPE, OASPA or STM

3. Check the journal’s contact information

4. Research the editorial board

5. Take a look at their peer review process and publication timelines

6. Read through past issues of the journal

source:

https://www.rxcomms.com/blog/6-ways-spot-predatory-journal/

Nevertheless, you should read the magazine and consult the specialists in your field

I generally expect journals to be indexed in at least Scopus, WoS, and appear in Scimago.

Dear Sandip Kumar Gupta and all readers of this thread: Please also see this useful article on the topic

"SHOULD I AIM FOR MULTIPLE CO-AUTHORSHIPS TO EXTEND MY PUBLICATION LIST?"

"https://smartsciencecareer.com/multiple-coauthorships/T

The article contains an interesting section entitled:

"SECOND RULE: AVOID TO PUBLISH IN PREDATORY JOURNALS AT ALL COSTS!"