Regardless of the publication model, always evaluate a journal for quality.
Unreasonably quick turnaround times: After submission, articles undergo peer review and an editing process, which can take several weeks, months, or even up to a year before the article is published.
A suspiciously quick turnaround time means the journal is likely cutting corners somewhere in the review process.
You can often find journals' average turnaround times listed in indexes like the DOAJ or on the journal's website.
Lack of transparency: High quality journals are transparent about the peer review process, article processing charges, and copyright policies.
Reputation and discoverability: What is the journal's impact factor? Does it appear in reputable databases, indexes or directories like the DOAJ, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, or COPE?
Look out for "Submission Fees": Open Access publications typically charge article processing fees after your article has been accepted for publication.
Be Careful of Soliciting Emails: Journals may offer themselves as a potential publisher for your article. This is a tactic used by low quality journals to convince you to publish with them.
Read the articles: Browse the journal's published articles. Do the articles have lots of mistakes? Can you find obvious flaws in their research, methodology, or logic?
If you are still having trouble deciding whether a publication is trustworthy and high quality, check out "Think Check Submit." This website has checklists to help you avoid low quality journals.
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