What is a predatory journal?
Predatory journals take advantage of the open-access publishing model by charging publication fees without providing standard peer-review or editing services. Because predatory publishers do not follow best practices for academic publishing, they solicit and easily accept manuscripts, and offer rapid peer-review and publication.
In contrast, high-quality academic journals take their time reviewing and publishing articles because manuscripts are rigorously reviewed and edited in preparation for publication.
How common are predatory journals?
A study published in 2021 found that a well-regarded and widely-used database indexed 324 questionable or predatory journals between 2015-2017. Since that time, the database has stopped indexing new papers for 65% of the journals that the study found to be questionable or predatory.1 This is just one example that demonstrates the prevalence of predatory publishers among academic resources. Predatory publishers persist in their efforts to dupe databases and authors, which makes it necessary for institutions and scholars to consider journals carefully. At MD Anderson, the Research Medical Library makes several resources available to authors to assist them in protecting their research from predatory journals.
Are all Open-Access journals predatory?
Absolutely not. There are numerous high-quality open-access journals across disciplines. These journals charge publication fees, known as article processing charges, but maintain high standards for peer-review and editing services. Moreover, because open-access journals remove paywalls for readers, their articles reach a larger audience and create a citation advantage for authors. In turn, these journals can also build impressive impact factors. Learn more about Open Access publishing here.
- Macháček, V., Srholec, M. Predatory publishing in Scopus: evidence on cross-country differences. Scientometrics 126, 1897–1921 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03852-4
