Skip to Main Content
Help Give Accounts

Predatory Journals & Questionable Conferences

This guide will help you identify predatory journals and questionable conferences (Author: A. Megwalu; Contributor: G. Basu)

What can you do?

How to avoid predatory publishers and conferences

  • Be aware of the publication landscape in your research area and the most reputable journals
  • Research the publisher credentials thoroughly using the checklists provided in this guide
  • Talk to your supervisor, mentor, and colleagues
  • Consult the Directory of Open Access Journals (https://doaj.org/ ) for reputable journals
  • Resist too-good-to-be-true-offers.  Trust your instincts!  If something smells fishy it probably is, as they say!
  • Consult the Subject Librarian for your discipline

Think. Check. Submit. from Think. Check. Submit. on Vimeo.

Key points of submitting your work to journals

  1. Can you trust this journal with your research?
  2. Which organization publishes this journal?
  3. Can you contact the editorial board easily?
  4. Do they conduct proper editorial/peer-review process?
  5. Do they clearly state reasons for charging publication fees. Are those fees optional? For example, some publications charge an additional fee for color illustrations.