KU - URA Office

Predatory Journal Check

The URA Office has studied predatory journals to support researchers' efforts to find high quality publications. We have selected 11 questions to assess whether or not a publication might be a predatory journal. While it is difficult be 100% sure, the answers to these questions should provide a relatively accurate estimate about a journal's trustworthiness. Use the form below to perform a self-assessment of a journal that might be questionable. (Note: Select "N/A" if an answer is unclear or cannot be determined.)


If you think you have found a new predatory journal, please submit it HERE.


Predatory Journal Assessment:



Results are not saved permanently.

Result:

Scoring System:

  • If the answer to a question is positive (usually "Yes" but sometimes "No") the score will be 1.
  • If the answer is negative (usually "No" but sometimes "Yes") the score will be -1.
  • If the answer cannot be determined ("N/A") the score will be 0.
  • The final score lies on a range between -11 and +11.
  • A final score of ~0 or lower should be considered suspicious.
  • We recommend only publishing in journals that receive a score of about 5 or higher.
    However, the final decision to publish is yours.

Please contact the URA Office if you have any questions.