Developed by Loyola Marymount University in the US, the rubric guides you to consider specific criteria and give each a score. This allows you to assess the professional standards and credibility of a journal and provides a useful set of standards by which to compare different journals.
Red Flags
Rapid publication is promised.
The homepage language targets authors.
The journal does not have clear policies on retraction, corrections/errata, or plagiarism.
Description of the manuscript handling process is lacking.
The contact email address is non-professional and non-journal related.
Manuscripts are requested to be submitted by email instead of through an online submission system.
Journals claiming to be open access either retain copyright of published research or fail to mention copyright.
Article processing and/or publication charge is very low (e.g. < £150).
Information on whether and how journal content will be archived and preserved is absent.
Scope of journal is not clear.
Website contains spelling and grammatical errors.
No ISSN (International Standard Serial Number).
Not indexed by MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, or other legitimate abstracting or indexing services or databases.
Journal title mirrors the title of an established journal with one or two words being different.
Journal is not published by reputable or known publisher.
Journal sends unsolicited email invitations for submissions, reviewers, or to serve on its editorial board.
Looks like a trade journal, not a scholarly journal.
Advertising is accepted.
Quality Indicators
Scope of the journal is well-defined and clearly stated.
Journal’s primary audience is researchers/practitioners.
Editor, editorial board are recognized experts in the field.
Journal is affiliated with or sponsored by an established scholarly society or academic institution.
Articles are within the scope of the journal and meet the standards of the discipline.
Any fees or charges for publishing in the journal are easily found on the journal web site and clearly explained.
Articles have DOIs.
Journal clearly indicates rights for use and re-use of content at article level (e.g., Creative Commons CC BY license).
