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Avoid questionable publishers and journals

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Although many journals and publishers are reputable, there are some that do not follow established scientific standards. Dubious journals often lack a peer review process and are not indexed in any of the most established databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Medline) - which can negatively affect your visibility and impact. The research papers are to be of a quality that corresponds to the requirements for publication in recognised international research journals (with peer review methodology). Please note that research papers published in predatory journals are not accepted

Unreliable publishers tend to contact researchers directly with offers to publish articles or act as reviewers. Be particularly wary of such communications.

Characteristics of questionable journals

For example: 

  • Title very similar to a well-known journal
  • Made-up or unofficial impact factors
  • Claim to be indexed in well-known databases
  • Aggressive email marketing   
  • Very fast turnaround time
  • Wide and/or unspecific scope 

Just one of these points does not make a journal questionable, but they are behaviors to be observant of.

Reasons not to publish in questionable journals 

Shortcomings in or complete lack of review processes of questionable journals may lead to substandard research slipping through and outright research fraud not being detected - in short, the scientific quality and integrity with these journals cannot be guaranteed.

Another important reason to avoid this type of publication is that questionable journals are not indexed in established article databases such as Web of Science and MEDLINE (the peer-reviewed version of PubMed), making articles published in them difficult to find. Such publications are neither included in resource allocation and in citation analyses.

It can be difficult to evaluate a journal or publisher yourself, so don't hesitate to ask for help if you are unsure. Contact us using the Library & ICT´s contact form.

By checking a journal against the steps in the checklist, you can decide for yourself whether a journal is legitimate or not. Some points are more important than others: if a journal is indexed in Web of Science or MEDLINE, you can assume that it meets the standards of these databases for peer review, editorial work and journal practices and this is more or less a guarantee that the journal can be considered serious.

1. Check that the journal is indexed in Web of Science

Why? The comprehensive and interdisciplinary article database Web of Science has a quality check on the journals that are indexed, Editorial selection process | Clarivate

  1. Go to the Web of Science database Journal Citation Reports (JCR) Journal Citation Reports - Home
  2. Search by journal title, journal abbreviation or ISSN
  3. If the journal appears as a search suggestion, it is indexed. From here you can click through to the information page about the journal, with citation indicator (often Journal Impact Factor, JIF), the journal's ranking in its category and much more.

2. Check that the journal is indexed in MEDLINE

Why? MEDLINE is the part of PubMed that provides quality control of the journals that are indexed, Journal Selection for MEDLINE

  1. Go to the NLM: (National Library of Medicine catalog, NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI Databases
  2. Search by journal title, journal abbreviation or ISSN
  3. If the journal is listed in MEDLINE or PubMed, it will appear in the hit list
  4. If you see "Currently indexed for MEDLINE" in the journal information, the journal has met MEDLINE's quality criteria

Why is PubMed indexing alone not enough? PubMed is a collective name for two sub-databases: MEDLINE and PMC (PubMed Central). MEDLINE is the quality-reviewed sub-database. PMC publishes full-text articles of all research funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). It can also include articles published in questionable journals. Therefore, the status "Currently indexed for MEDLINE" is important; indexing in PMC alone does not guarantee that a journal is serious.

When the journal is not indexed in Web of Science or MEDLINE  

  • Not all research areas are covered by Web of Science or MEDLINE, so check instead that the journal is indexed in a database relevant to that research area and that the database in question has quality requirements to include journals.
  • A journal may be too new to be indexed in the databases in the checklist. If the journal is published by a serious and well-known publisher, there are usually functioning procedures for review and quality. You can then more or less assume that it is not a questionable journal, even if it is not yet indexed in databases or has not yet received a Journal Impact Factor (JIF).
  1. Check that the journal is indexed in Scopus
    Why? Scopus is a large, interdisciplinary database and has a continuous quality assurance process conducted by the Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board, an international group of researchers and librarians from various disciplines. 
    More about the selection process: Curation and re-evaluation in Scopus
    1. Enter Scopus
    2. Open “Sources”
    3. Search by journal title or ISSN
       
  2. Check that the journal is indexed in DOAJ

This point only applies to pure open access journals, i.e. journals containing only open access articles. So-called hybrid journals containing both paywalled and open access articles are not indexed in DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals).

Why? DOAJ, which is a database of open access journals, has a quality review of the journals that are indexed, Guide to applying – DOAJ

Go to DOAJ, Directory of Open Access Journals – DOAJ

Search by journal title or ISSN

If the journal is indexed, it will appear in the hit list. Clicking on the journal title provides information about the peer review process and publication license, among other things

5. Check that the journal is on the Norwegian list with at least level 1

Why? The Norwegian list (or Kanalregisteret) is a list of publishing channels which the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills considers to be legitimate, scholarly channels.

  1. Enter the Norwegian list
    1. Search by journal title or ISSN
    2. The journals can have four different levels:

Level 1 = legitimate, scholarly journal

Level 2 = belongs to the most highly ranked journals in its field

Level 0 = has gone through a quality check but was not accepted

Level X = currently under investigation

Think. Check. Submit.

As an additional step, if you want to be sure that you have reviewed the journal thoroughly, you can go through the checklist Think. Check. Submit. 

Contact Library & ICT and the Faculty of Medicine's library

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Last updated: 9 Sep 2025