Before using that article for a journal club or sending off your manuscript to an unknown journal, it's a good idea to evaluate the journal's credentials. 

While the growth of online publications have contributed to the ease and speed of publishing study findings, it has also increased the number of publishers who do not follow scholarly best practices or worse, are predatory in their practices.

Below we've listed some library resources that you can use to evaluate the journal before you cite that article, present at that journal club, or publish an article.

⚠️ Important Note on Journal Titles and ISSNs

When searching for a journal in Scopus, always verify that both the journal title and ISSN match exactly with the journal you are evaluating.

Predatory publishers often mimic the names of reputable journals by using very similar titles with only slight variations. This deceptive practice can easily mislead researchers into confusing a low-quality or illegitimate journal with a well-established one.

To avoid this:

• Double-check the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) which is unique to each journal.
• Compare the publisher name and journal scope with trusted sources, like those listed above
• When in doubt, consult your librarian or use tools like Think. Check. Submit. (linked below)

• Clearly described peer-review & editorial review processes
• Reasonable acceptance rate
• Editorial board of respected scholars in the discipline who also claim board membership
• Clear explanation of fees & associated publication costs
• Publisher subscribes to industry best practices

Use the following resources along with the journal's website to determine how the journal is viewed within the discipline and what to expect when you publish with the journal. Do they charge a fee for article publication? Will the article be open access or embargoed for a time period first? Some of the following resources can help.