Predatory publishers are those that, under the umbrella of open access, have a dubious reputation because they seem to be more interested in charging APCs than in publishing according to quality criteria. In fact, they do not usually offer the editorial services characteristic of journal publishers, such as indexing journals in databases or peer review processes that verify the quality of articles. They sometimes offer potential authors the opportunity to publish their work, for example, by approaching doctoral students and offering to publish their theses.
We recommend avoiding these publishers, as linking your name or work to them can be counterproductive.
The Think, Check Submit portal has a Checklist to help you assess journal quality, allowing you to decide which ones to publish with and which ones to avoid.
To check whether a publisher is considered ‘predatory’, you can consult the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). This portal contains more than 12,000 open access journals considered to be of high quality because they meet the established criteria. All of them have a peer review process and many are indexed in databases. Although the fact that a journal is not listed there does not necessarily mean that it is predatory, it is advisable to check other indicators. If you have doubts about a specific journal, you can write to us at Policonsulta so that we can help you evaluate it: https://www.upv.es/entidades/abdc/en/publishing-strategies/
To avoid hijacked journals, you should always double-check the legitimacy of URLs, be cautious with links you receive by email, and be wary of any suspicious behaviour.
