Be iNFORMEd: Checklist

Number

For journal articles, how many articles has the journal published? Are they similar in scope and topic? How many citations are there to those articles? For books, how many other books has that publisher produced?

• Has already published high quality articles
• Articles in this journal have been cited elsewhere
• Articles and books by publisher are similar in topic and scope

• No articles or books published
• Articles and books have not been cited elsewhere
• Articles and books cover very wide range of subjects

Is the fee reasonable?

• Fees fall in the industry standard $1500 - $5000 range or follow the Diamond open access / community-supported publishing model

• Fees too low (e.g., $300) or too high
• The publisher appears to be trying to raise revenue by soliciting / spamming authors

What company owns and produces this journal or book? Can you tell who owns the company?

• Smaller imprint of a bigger publisher
• Owned by a society or recognized institution

• Information not available at all
• Address and contact information seems unlikely for a publishing company

Are articles and chapters peer reviewed before acceptance? How robust is the review process?

• Peer review process is described in detail and is standard for the discipline

• Information not available at all
• Fast review turnaround promised (e.g., 3 days or a week)
• No review process; all articles accepted
• No acceptance rate listed

What associations or OA alliances does the journal or publisher have?

• Associations listed, such as ICMJE, COPE, OASPA
• Indexing sites listed. Note: indexing in MEDLINE can take a couple of years for new journals.
• Preservation / archiving policies listed

• Acronyms may be listed on the website, but the publisher could not actually be a member
• Acronyms and metrics are unfamiliar or similar but not the same as standards
• Google or Google Scholar only source in which journal is indexed
• Publisher recommends standards, but does not require them

Who is on their editorial board and staff?

• Experts in the field with institutional affiliations

• Editorial board may have expertise, but it is variable and outside the scope of the journal
• No information listed about editors or staff
• No information listed under about us
• Open calls for editorial boards and reviewers