How to Spot Predatory Journals: A 15-Point Checklist for African Researchers

June 11, 2026 · 4 min read

For every researcher chasing a publication, there is a fake journal hoping to take their money. Predatory journals charge a fee to publish almost anything with little or no real peer review — and Nigerian and African academics, under pressure to publish for promotion, are heavily targeted. This 15-point checklist helps you spot the warning signs before you submit, and shows how to verify that a journal is genuine.

What is a predatory journal?

A predatory journal is one that claims to be a legitimate scholarly publication but exists mainly to collect article processing charges (APCs) from authors, without providing genuine peer review^[1], editorial standards, or long-term archiving. The term describes deception and missing quality control — not the simple fact of charging a fee.

Why African and Nigerian researchers are targeted

“Publish or perish” promotion rules, limited access to mentoring on where to publish, and the cost of legitimate APCs combine to make researchers in emerging economies a prime market for predatory publishers^[2]. The flattering emails feel like opportunities; in reality they can cost money, waste good research on a journal nobody trusts, and even harm a career when promotion committees reject the outlet.

The 15-point predatory journal checklist

The more of these warning signs a journal shows, the higher the risk:

1. Unsolicited flattering emails. Spam invitations praising your “eminent research” and urging a quick submission.
2. Promises of very fast publication. Real peer review takes weeks to months; “acceptance in 72 hours” is a red flag.
3. Fake impact factors. Invented metrics like “Global Impact Factor”, “Universal Impact Factor” or “Cosmos Impact Factor” — none are legitimate.
4. Hidden or surprise APCs. Fees that appear only after your paper is accepted.
5. An unverifiable editorial board. Few names, no affiliations, or respected academics listed without their consent.
6. A look-alike title. A name that closely mimics a well-known, established journal (journal hijacking).
7. No clear peer-review process. The website never explains how, or whether, submissions are reviewed.
8. An impossibly broad scope. One journal claiming to cover medicine, law, agriculture and engineering at once.
9. A low-quality website. Spelling errors, broken links, missing pages, or stock-photo branding.
10. False indexing claims. Boasts of being in Scopus, Web of Science or DOAJ that you cannot confirm on those services’ own sites.
11. A missing or fake ISSN. No ISSN, or one that does not resolve on the official ISSN Portal.
12. A free webmail contact. The “editorial office” uses a Gmail or Yahoo address rather than an institutional one.
13. No ethics or retraction policy. No COPE membership, no stated policy on corrections, retractions or misconduct.
14. Poor-quality published articles. Browse a recent issue: papers riddled with errors, off-topic, or clearly unreviewed.
15. Guaranteed acceptance. Any promise that your paper will be published is incompatible with real peer review.

How to verify a journal is legitimate

Don’t rely on the journal’s own claims — check independent sources:

• DOAJ (doaj.org): search the journal in the Directory of Open Access Journals. Inclusion is a strong positive signal.
• Think. Check. Submit. (thinkchecksubmit.org): a free, step-by-step checklist endorsed by major scholarly bodies.
• COPE (publicationethics.org): confirm the publisher is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
• The index’s own site. If a journal claims Scopus or Web of Science indexing, verify it on Scopus Sources or the Master Journal List — not on the journal’s page.
• AJOL (ajol.info): for African journals, inclusion in African Journals Online is a useful credibility check.
• The ISSN Portal (portal.issn.org): confirm the ISSN is real and matches the journal.

What to do if you have already submitted or paid

If your paper has not yet been published, request to withdraw it immediately and in writing. If it has been published, contact the journal to ask for retraction and keep records of all correspondence — and be aware the work may need to be published properly elsewhere. Tell your supervisor or research office; institutions increasingly maintain guidance and would rather help early than discover it during a promotion review.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official predatory journals list?

There is no single official blacklist — Beall’s List, the best-known one, was discontinued in 2017. The reliable approach is to use trusted whitelists and tools instead: confirm a journal in DOAJ and run it through Think. Check. Submit.

Are all journals that charge a fee predatory?

No. Many reputable open-access journals charge a legitimate APC to cover publishing costs, and “diamond” open-access journals charge authors nothing at all. Predatory is about deception and the absence of real peer review, not the fee itself.

How do I check if a journal is in DOAJ?

Go to doaj.org and search the journal title or ISSN. If it appears, it has met DOAJ’s basic quality and transparency criteria; if it does not, treat that as a reason to investigate further.

References

1. Grudniewicz A, Moher D, Cobey KD, et al. (2019). Predatory journals: no definition, no defence. Nature 576:210–212. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-03759-y
2. Xia J, Harmon JL, Connolly KG, et al. (2015). Who publishes in “predatory” journals? J Assoc Inf Sci Technol 66(7):1406–1417. doi:10.1002/asi.23265
3. Think. Check. Submit. thinkchecksubmit.org
4. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). publicationethics.org
5. Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). doaj.org
6. ISSN Portal. portal.issn.org