Q. How do I know if my journal is a reputable journal?

Is the journal listed in a major database?

• Is it a medical journal? Be sure it is listed as “Currently indexed for MEDLINE”.
• Is it an open access journal? Be sure it is listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals.

If not, ask yourself these questions:

• Is the publisher promising a quick turnaround? A quick turnaround time may mean that the publisher is not thoroughly editing the manuscript or rigorously following the peer-review process.
• Did the publishers solicit a manuscript submission through email? If so, was the email clear about why they wanted a manuscript from you? Does the email have spelling or grammatical errors? Any of these things are red flags that the journal may be questionable.
• Is the publisher transparent about publication fees? There are some questionable journals who will ask for a publication fee after you have submitted your manuscript.
• Does the journal have an impact factor in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) database? Not every journal will have an impact factor, but if a journal is claiming to have one, be sure to confirm the impact factor is legitimate by searching the official JCR database.
• Are your colleagues familiar with the journal? You or your colleagues should be aware of the journal as a publication they would read, publish in or cite regularly.