Predatory journals are publications that claim to be legitimate scholarly journals but misrepresent their publishing practices. They prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices. They take advantage of authors by asking them to publish for a fee without providing peer-review or editing services. Predatory journals attempt to deceive authors to publish for a fee without providing robust peer-review or editorial services, thereby putting profit over trustworthy and dependable science. They are dishonest and lack transparency. Some common forms of predatory publishing practices include falsely claiming to provide peer review, hiding information about Article Processing Charges (APCs), misrepresenting members of the journal’s editorial board, and other violations of copyright or scholarly ethics.

There is no foolproof way to determine if a journal is predatory, but there are some ways to spot them. Here are a few places you can search to determine the quality of an open access journal:

• Is the journal open access? If so, is it listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals?
• Is the journal indexed in reputable databases such as PubMed, Scopus, or Web of Science?
• Does the journal have a clear peer-review process?
• Does the journal have a clear editorial board with affiliations and contact information?
• Does the journal have a clear policy on publication fees?
• Does the journal have a professional-looking website with clear information about the journal and its policies?

It is important to avoid predatory journals because they can damage an authors reputation and credibility, and can also harm the scientific community by disseminating unreliable or false information.