Undergraduate Research

"Predatory journals—also called fraudulent, deceptive, or pseudo-journals—are publications that claim to be legitimate scholarly journals but misrepresent their publishing practices. Some common forms of predatory publishing practices include

• falsely claiming to provide peer review,
• hiding information about article processing charges,
• misrepresenting members of the journal’s editorial board, and
• other violations of copyright or scholarly ethics."

Common Characteristics of Predatory Journals

- Elmore SA, Weston EH. Predatory Journals: What They Are and How to Avoid Them. Toxicologic Pathology. 2020;48(4):607-610. doi:10.1177/0192623320920209

1. Predatory Reports is "an organization made up of volunteer researchers who have been harmed by predatory publishers and want to help researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research." Their lists breaks down predators by both publisher and journal name.
    
2. Think. Check. Submit. "helps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. Through a range of tools and practical resources, this international cross-sector initiative aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications."
   
   Checklist for books | Checklist for journals
    
3. COPE Members is a searchable list of publishers and institutions that are part of the Committee on Publication Ethics, an organization "committed to educating and supporting editors, publishers, universities, research institutes, and all those involved in publication ethics."

    

4. Cabells Journalitics Academic indexes and lists over 19,000 predatory journals.
    

5. SJR: Scimago Journal & Country is a free platform that ranks academic journals and countries based on citation data from Scopus, offering metrics like the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) to assess scholarly impact and prestige
    

6. Open Policy Finder (formerly Sherpa services) is a centralized platform that provides standardized summaries of open access policies from publishers and funders, helping researchers and institutions navigate compliance and self-archiving requirements