Strategies for Distinguishing a Reputable from a Predatory Journal
Narrative Review with a Similitude Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48492/servir0212.39735Keywords:
Predatory Journals as Topic, Periodicals as Topic, Editorial Policies, Information ScienceAbstract
Introduction: Predatory journals are seen as a global threat to science, researchers and the end users of research results.
Objective: To describe the strategies for distinguishing a reputable from a predatory journal.
Methods: Narrative review, based on the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles. For the search for evidence, the PubMed database was considered, justified by the guaranteed coverage rate. The data selection and extraction process were conducted by a researcher. In addition to narrative synthesis, the Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionneires (IRAMUTEQ) software was used to synthesize the data.
Results: Before submitting their research results for publication in a journal, researchers should: analyze and check the characteristics of the journal; check the available lists of predatory journals and the available lists of reputable journals; use tools or platforms or checklists to check if a journal is reputable; disregard and do not subscribe to emails promising fast publications and sham conferences.
Conclusion: This paper provides a practical and clear overview of the strategies for distinguishing a predatory from a reputable journal, supporting researchers to disseminate their research in a transparent and credible way. Besides educational approaches to researchers on these strategies, collaborative action between academics and editorial teams, and higher education/research policies is suggested.
Downloads
References
Baethge, C., Goldbeck-Wood, S., & Mertens, S. (2019). SANRA-a scale for the quality assessment of narrative review articles. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 4, 1-7. https://researchintegrityjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41073-019-0064-8
Beall, J. (2010). “Predatory” open-access scholarly publishers. The Charleston Advisor, 11(4), 10-17. https://core.ac.uk/reader/11886760
Berebichez-Fridman, R., & Berebichez-Fastlicht, E. (2024). Predatory journals in Orthopedics and Traumatology. Acta Ortopedica Mexicana, 38(1), 22–28. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38657148/
Bramer, W. M., Rethlefsen, M. L., Kleijnen, J., & Franco, O. H. (2017). Optimal database combinations for literature searches in systematic reviews: a prospective exploratory study. Systematic Reviews, 6(1), 245. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-017-0644-y
Camargo, B. V., & Justo, A. M. (2013). IRAMUTEQ: um software gratuito para análise de dados textuais. Temas em Psicologia, 21(2), 513-518. http://dx.doi.org/10.9788/TP2013.2-16
Cobey, K. D., Lalu, M. M., Skidmore, B., Ahmadzai, N., Grudniewicz, A., & Moher, D. (2018). What is a predatory journal? A scoping review. F1000Research, 7, 1001. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.15256.2
Forero, D. A., Oermann, M. H., Manca, A., Deriu, F., Mendieta-Zerón, H., Dadkhah, M., Bhad, R., Deshpande, S. N., Wang, W., & Cifuentes, M. P. (2018). Negative Effects of "Predatory" Journals on Global Health Research. Annals of Global Health, 84(4), 584–589. https://doi.org/10.9204/aogh.2389
Gasparyan, A. Y., Nurmashev, B., Voronov, A. A., Gerasimov, A. N., Koroleva, A. M., & Kitas, G. D. (2016). The Pressure to Publish More and the Scope of Predatory Publishing Activities. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 31(12), 1874–1878. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.12.1874
Grudniewicz, A., Moher, D., Cobey, K. D., Bryson, G. L., Cukier, S., Allen, K., Ardern, C., Balcom, L., Barros, T., Berger, M., Ciro, J. B., Cugusi, L., Donaldson, M. R., Egger, M., Graham, I. D., Hodgkinson, M., Khan, K. M., Mabizela, M., Manca, A., Milzow, K., … Lalu, M. M. (2019). Predatory journals: no definition, no defence. Nature, 576(7786), 210–212. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03759-y
Guimarães, J. A. C., & Hayashi, M. C. P. (2023). Revistas predatórias: um inimigo a ser combatido na comunicação científica. RDBCI: Revista Digital de Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação, 21, e023003. https://doi.org/10.20396/rdbci.v21i00.8671811
Happe L. E. (2020). Distinguishing Predatory from Reputable Publishing Practices. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 26(8), 956–960. https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2020.26.8.956
Leeuw, E. (2020). 'Collaborate now with worldwide physicians and scientists!'-the obscenity of predatory science. Health Promotion International, 35(4), 633–638. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaa078
Martinino, A., Chatterjee, S., Smeenk, F. W., & Pouwels, S. (2023). Rebranding of Predatory Journals and Conferences: Understanding Its Implication and Prevention Strategy. Cureus, 15(6), e40126. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40126
Munn, Z., Barker, T., Stern, C., Pollock, D., Ross-White, A., Klugar, M., Wiechula, R., Aromataris, E., & Shamseer, L. (2021). Should I include studies from "predatory" journals in a systematic review? Interim guidance for systematic reviewers. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 19(8), 1915–1923. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-21-00138
Pamukcu Gunaydin, G., & Dogan, N. O. (2017). How can emergency physicians protect their work in the era of pseudo publishing?. Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine, 18(1), 11–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjem.2017.11.001
Rupp, M., Anastasopoulou, L., Wintermeyer, E., Malhaan, D., El Khassawna, T., & Heiss, C. (2019). Predatory journals: a major threat in orthopaedic research. International Orthopaedics, 43(3), 509–517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-018-4179-1
Salviati M. E. (2017). Manual do aplicativo Iramuteq. http://www.iramuteq.org/documentation/fichiers/manual-do-aplicativo-iramuteq-par-mariaelisabethsalviati
Sharma, H., & Verma, S. (2018). Predatory journals: The rise of worthless biomedical science. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 64(4), 226–231. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpgm.JPGM_347_18
Shen, C., & Shah, L. (2023). Predatory publishing practices: what researchers should know before submitting their manuscript. Insights, 36(1). https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.631
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Diana Santos, Elaine Santana, Eduardo José Ferreira dos Santos, António Fernando Amaral, Maria Manuel Borges
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In order to promote the free circulation of knowledge, Servir is open access journal. All its content is available and protected under the Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).
The journal allows self-archiving in institutional repositories of all versions, which may become immediately available
