Predatory Journals and Publishers

Have you ever been in one of these situations?

You received an email inviting you to join the editorial board or submit to a journal you are not familiar with...

You found a source and want to make sure it is good quality...

You found a journal that seems like a good home for your paper but want to make sure it is legitimate...

Now what??

Trying to evaluate journal quality can seem like a daunting task with high stakes. The good news is that a Clemson librarian created a workflow document that will walk you through the process, so give it a try!  If you are still unsure about the quality of the journal please reach out directly and we are happy to provide further expert help.

Think. Check. Submit. provides a framework and checklist to critically evaluate journals. You can find this tool at: https://thinkchecksubmit.org/

Cabell's Scholarly Analytics is an evaluation source for open access journals. Journals featured on the Journalytics tab have passed Cabell's evaluation criteria, while those on the Predatory Reports tab have been flagged for predatory practices. Complete evaluation criteria for each journal, as well as publication metrics, are available for each title. 

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

• Online directory of high quality, peer reviewed open access journals

Open Access Scholarly Publisher's Association (OASPA)

• Membership directory of rigorously vetted open access publishers

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

• Membership directory of editors and journals involved in publication ethics and ethical best practices in publishing

Journals Online (INASP)

• Organization that evaluates the quality of journals published worldwide, including Bangladesh, Latin America, Africa, and the Phillipines.

African Journals Online (AJOL)

• Collection of peer-reviewed academic journals published in Africa

Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker

• A resource for checking if a legitimate journal has been hijacked