Author due diligence
Journal evaluation checklist
Use this checklist before submitting a manuscript, joining an editorial board, reviewing for an unfamiliar title, or paying an article processing charge. It is written for practical decisions, not theory.
Maintained by the Beallslists.com editorial review team · Last reviewed: June 19, 2026
1. Confirm identity
- Search the exact journal title and ISSN. Similar titles are common.
- Check whether the publisher name, address, and legal entity are consistent across the site.
- Look for a stable domain history. Sudden domain changes deserve attention.
- Search the publisher name and domain in this archive and in general web results.
2. Review the editorial process
- Peer review should be described in plain language: who reviews, how conflicts are handled, and what decisions are possible.
- Guaranteed acceptance, guaranteed fast publication, or “acceptance after payment” language is a serious warning.
- Editorial-board names should be verifiable through university, hospital, ORCID, or professional profiles.
3. Verify indexing and metrics
- Check PubMed, MEDLINE, PMC, Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ, Crossref, and ISSN directly rather than trusting website logos.
- Do not treat Google Scholar visibility as an official Journal Impact Factor.
- Look for discontinued coverage, selected-article indexing, title changes, or hijacked titles.
4. Check fees and policies before submission
- APCs, waiver rules, withdrawal fees, refunds, copyright, licensing, and archiving should be visible before submission.
- Corrections, retractions, plagiarism, authorship, conflicts of interest, complaints, and appeals should have written policies.
Simple decision rule
If the journal is unfamiliar and you cannot verify the publisher, editors, peer-review process, indexing, fees, and policies within 20–30 minutes, pause the submission. A legitimate journal should make basic trust information easy to find.
A realistic 30-minute review
For most authors, the first review should take about 30 minutes. Search the exact title and publisher, open the ISSN record, check one indexing claim directly, read the APC page, and verify two or three editorial-board members outside the journal website. If those checks are difficult, incomplete, or contradictory, the journal should not be treated as low-risk.
For high-stakes publications—thesis work, grant-funded research, clinical studies, promotion cases, or institutional reporting—keep screenshots or archived copies. A short evidence file is often more useful than a yes/no label because it shows why the decision was made.
When the evidence is mixed
Some journals fall into a grey area: new title, small society, limited indexing, but real editors and transparent policies. In those cases, ask whether the journal is appropriate for your audience and whether your institution recognizes it. Avoid paying until the basic facts are clear.
Useful external references
These links are included because they are practical, public starting points for researchers. They should be used alongside local institutional policies and the current evidence for a specific journal or publisher.