Hi Shaun,

Without checking - it sounds like it.

Essentially, 'red flag' number 1 with predatory journals is always be very wary when any journal approaches you directly. There are some established open access journal corporations i.e. SAGE - but most people know that they are established and they mostly send out generic invitations -more based on 'do you know this journal/suite of journals exists - related to your topic area?'. If you are not sure - then Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a good site to check first. If the journal targeting you is not on there - it's another red flag. Then there are many other red flags - such as:

• Poor quality online interface.
• Minimal and/or very broad journal scope i.e. we publish almost anything.
• Poor English quality and grammatical errors.
• Check the country of origin.
• Unknown editors.
• Unknown or no editorial board and/or all based in the country of origin
• Unsophisticated online manuscript submission processes i.e. send a word document by email
• Upfront publishing charges
• Not registered or associated with any reputable professional bodies and/or citation agencies.
• Check the quality of existing articles in the journal.

With Joachim's response - remember that if the journal is listed on the DOAJ site that is a positive thing - unlike Beall's now defunct list.

A good way to be sure in this respect is to check with the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) whether the journal in question is listed there.

https://doaj.org/

"DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals."

Hi Shaun,

Without checking - it sounds like it.

Essentially, 'red flag' number 1 with predatory journals is always be very wary when any journal approaches you directly. There are some established open access journal corporations i.e. SAGE - but most people know that they are established and they mostly send out generic invitations -more based on 'do you know this journal/suite of journals exists - related to your topic area?'. If you are not sure - then Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a good site to check first. If the journal targeting you is not on there - it's another red flag. Then there are many other red flags - such as:

• Poor quality online interface.
• Minimal and/or very broad journal scope i.e. we publish almost anything.
• Poor English quality and grammatical errors.
• Check the country of origin.
• Unknown editors.
• Unknown or no editorial board and/or all based in the country of origin
• Unsophisticated online manuscript submission processes i.e. send a word document by email
• Upfront publishing charges
• Not registered or associated with any reputable professional bodies and/or citation agencies.
• Check the quality of existing articles in the journal.

With Joachim's response - remember that if the journal is listed on the DOAJ site that is a positive thing - unlike Beall's now defunct list.

Hello Shaun, in order to give you a more accurate answer I would need more data. In which specific journal did you publish? Do you have the ISSN? They charged or paid you? Did you send the opinions? Do you know which are the indexes to which the journal belongs?

Recall, that many publishing companies, although they look normal and in order, their behavior is predatory. They do not look for an academic good, but profit.

Cesar, it is for the journal Psychological Disorders and Research.

Based on the replies so far, iIt definately sounds like it is predatory. I have written to the editor with my concerns thus giving them a chance to reply. I suspect that I will not hear back from them. If they do write back, I will report back on the quality of their answers here.

Hi. Good Morning.

I have already reviewed and researched a little. The conclusion is that we are facing a predatory journal. Many times appearances deceive. That is regrettable. I told you For example, it does not have ISSN visible, it only has a published number. Cobra to publish and also the publication times are fast, no serious and formal journal can publish in 14 days. I am in charge of a journal and our times are longer than 4 months and we are an academic journal of continuous publication. Another piece of information, the articles that you have already published, are assigned a doi that does not work. It does not have the names and emails of the people in charge of the magazine or less of the editorial committee.

Conclusion: It is a predatory journal.

Thanks for your help guys :)

Just to report back in. The journal never replied to my concerns so I have pulled my paper.

I have started reformatting my paper for submission to another journal. It was only then that I discovered how many errors Psychological Disorders and Research had produced in the final preprint copy. References were suddenly wrong, sentences suddenly didn't make sense, etc. I thought I would report on this so others can also learn from my experience.

Dear Shaun Halovic ,

To reassure that you have made the right decision to withdraw your submission:

Science Repository is on the updated Beall’s list. https://beallslist.net/

So yes this publisher seems to have all the characteristics of a predatory publisher and can be better avoided.

Added 15-02-2020: For a less black and white approach how to use the Beall's list see:

Method Predatory journals and publishers: a menace to science and s...

Thanks Rob Keller

I have noticed Science Repository in Beallslist, therefore my suggestion for authors is that try to avoid publishing your valuable works in journals of Science Repository. Check this link: https://beallslist.weebly.com/#update

Yo lo busque en la lista de bell y no lo encontre, no me cobran por publicar....