What is a predatory journal?

A predatory journal charges publication fees while providing little or no legitimate peer review, editorial oversight, or quality control. The defining characteristic is fake services: collecting article processing charges without delivering what legitimate journals provide. Most predatory journals accept almost anything after cursory or fabricated review, have unclear or invented editorial boards, aren't indexed in PubMed or major databases, and may disappear or become inaccessible after collecting fees.

How can I tell if a biomedical journal is predatory?

Use this seven-point verification checklist: (1) Check PubMed/MEDLINE indexing at nlm.nih.gov/medline/. (2) Verify Scopus or Web of Science listing. (3) Look up the ISSN at portal.issn.org. (4) Check DOAJ (doaj.org) for open-access journals. (5) Verify editorial board members are real researchers with matching institutional profiles. (6) Use Think.Check.Submit (thinkchecksubmit.org). (7) Search for complaints or warnings in your field's community. Red flags: unsolicited email invitations, unrealistically fast acceptance (hours to days), unclear APCs, missing contact details, impact factor claims not matching Clarivate JCR.

Are MDPI and Frontiers journals predatory?

Neither meets the threshold for predatory, but both occupy contested middle ground. MDPI (publisher of Cells, Cancers, Nutrients, and hundreds of others) has real peer review and legitimate indexing in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, but also high acceptance rates and aggressive email solicitation. Frontiers uses a tiered review model with author-suggested reviewers and has legitimate indexing, but has faced criticism for acceptance rates and review quality in some sections. Both publish in all fields; quality varies widely by individual journal and section editor.

What are the consequences of publishing in a predatory journal?

Publishing in a predatory journal carries real professional risks. The work may become inaccessible if the journal disappears or the website goes offline. The publication is unlikely to count toward academic evaluation at most research institutions. It can damage your reputation with grant reviewers and collaborators who recognize the journal. Retraction is possible but often the work simply vanishes from the scientific record.

Scope: 7-point verification checklist·Data: DOAJ · COPE · ISSN Portal·Last reviewed: February 2026·Source: Manusights editorial team (researchers with publications in Cell, Nature, Science)·Cite this guide ↓

How to Identify Predatory Journals in Biomedicine

Predatory journals are a specific problem in biomedicine. They mimic legitimate journals, promise fast peer review, target researchers at career pressure points, and collect APCs while providing nothing in return: no real peer review, no indexing, no lasting record.

Generic checklists exist (Think.Check.Submit is the standard one). This guide goes further with biomedical-specific red flags, common tactics used to target life scientists, and how to distinguish predatory journals from legitimate low-tier options.

What "Predatory" Actually Means

The term "predatory journal" was popularized by librarian Jeffrey Beall, who maintained a list of suspected predatory publishers until 2017. The definition remains contested -- a 2019 consensus paper in Nature by Grudniewicz et al. [1] defines a predatory journal as "one that prioritizes self-interest at the expense of scholarship." The core meaning is a journal that solicits manuscripts and charges APCs while failing to deliver the services it promises, primarily rigorous peer review.

In practice, predatory journals accept almost anything after a cursory or fake review, have unclear or fabricated editorial boards, aren't indexed in PubMed or major databases, and often disappear or become inaccessible.

Publishing in one can damage your reputation, cause your work to disappear from the scientific record, and waste money. The key word is "fake services": a low-impact but legitimate journal isn't predatory just because it's not prestigious.

The critical distinction

Predatory journals claim to provide peer review and don't. They accept anything, charge the APC, and may vanish.

Low-tier legitimate journals have real peer review, real indexing, and real editors. They're just not prestigious. PLOS ONE, Scientific Reports, and Frontiers journals sometimes get unfairly labeled as predatory because of their high acceptance rates. They're not. They have real review processes.

The question isn't "is the journal prestigious?" It's "does the journal do what it says it does?"

How Predatory Journals Target Biomedical Researchers

🚩 Red flag

Email solicitations after conference presentations

If you presented at a medical conference and got an email two weeks later asking you to submit a full manuscript to a journal you've never heard of, that's a common predatory tactic. Real journals don't do cold outreach to specific researchers.

🚩 Red flag

Journal names mimicking legitimate ones

"Journal of Clinical Oncology Research" vs. the real "Journal of Clinical Oncology." "International Journal of Cardiology and Heart Disease" vs. "International Journal of Cardiology." The mimicking is intentional: it fools researchers scanning email quickly.

🚩 Red flag

Guaranteed acceptance with unusually fast turnaround

"Submit today, published in 7 days." No legitimate peer-reviewed journal can guarantee publication or provide a 7-day turnaround. Legitimate journals take weeks to months.

🚩 Red flag

Fake or fabricated editorial boards

Some predatory journals list real scientists as editors without their knowledge. Before submitting, verify that the listed editors actually exist, work at the listed institution, and confirm on their own faculty pages that they're associated with that journal.

⚠️ Pattern

Targeting early-career researchers and international authors

Junior researchers under publication pressure and authors from non-English-speaking countries are disproportionately targeted. Emails often emphasize the journal's "international reputation" and "prestigious editorial board."

ℹ️ Clarification

MDPI and Frontiers confusion

MDPI and Frontiers are real publishers, not predatory. They have real peer review and real indexing. But some researchers conflate them with predatory publishers because of their high acceptance rates and APC model. The distinction matters: these are legitimate venues with genuine peer review, just with a different business model.

How to Verify a Biomedical Journal (7 Checks)

Is it indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE?

Search the NLM Catalog (catalog.nlm.nih.gov) for the journal by name. If a biomedical journal isn't indexed in MEDLINE after several years of existence, that's a significant red flag. Not all legitimate journals are MEDLINE-indexed (it takes time), but predatory journals virtually never are.

Tool: catalog.nlm.nih.gov

Does it appear in DOAJ (for OA journals)?

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) applies quality criteria before listing journals. If a journal claims to be OA and isn't in DOAJ, check why.

Tool: doaj.org

Can you verify the editorial board members independently?

Pick 3 names from the editorial board. Search them on Google, PubMed, and their institution's faculty page. Do they list this journal? If listed editors don't mention the journal themselves, they may not have agreed to be on the board.

Tool: Google + institutional faculty pages

Is the ISSN registered with the ISSN Portal?

Every legitimate journal should have an ISSN registered with the International ISSN Centre. Search at portal.issn.org. Predatory journals sometimes use fake or stolen ISSNs.

Tool: portal.issn.org

Is the publisher a member of COPE or similar?

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) requires member publishers to follow ethical standards. Legitimate publishers (Springer Nature, Elsevier, BMJ, PLOS, Frontiers) are COPE members. Predatory publishers almost never are.

Tool: publicationethics.org/members

Does the journal have a physical address and real contact information?

Verify the publisher address exists (Google Street View is fine). Many predatory journals list false addresses: typically in the US or UK for credibility, when the actual operation is elsewhere.

Tool: Publisher website + Google Maps

Use Think.Check.Submit

The Think.Check.Submit checklist (thinkchecksubmit.org) walks through the key questions in a structured format. It's the standard tool for this purpose and is also available as a PDF to share with students or faculty.

Tool: thinkchecksubmit.org

The Gray Area: MDPI, Hindawi, and High-Volume OA Publishers

MDPI (Basel-based, publishes hundreds of journals including Cells, Cancers, Nutrients) occupies a contested middle ground. It has real peer review and real indexing (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus), but also high acceptance rates, aggressive email solicitation, and short review times that critics argue compromise review quality. Most researchers can publish legitimate work there; the practical question is whether your institution or grant panel views MDPI publications favorably.

Hindawi, which Wiley acquired in 2021, is no longer a relevant example. Wiley shut down Hindawi as a publisher brand in 2024, having withdrawn over 8,000 articles and discontinued hundreds of journals following peer review manipulation scandals [2]. Hindawi journals are not appropriate publication venues.

The practical question: will your promotion committee or grant panel look unfavorably on a publication in an MDPI journal? In some fields and institutions, yes. In others, no. Know your audience before choosing these venues for work you want to highlight prominently.

References

Grudniewicz A, Moher D, Cobey KD, et al. Predatory journals: no definition, no defence. Nature. 2019;576(7786):210-212. [doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03759-y ↗]
Wiley. Wiley to wind down Hindawi brand as part of ongoing portfolio review. Press release, May 2023. Hindawi brand discontinued 2024. [wiley.com newsroom ↗]
Cobey KD, Lalu MM, Skidmore B, et al. What do we mean by 'predatory publishing'? A systematic review of the literature. F1000Research. 2018;7:1001. [doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.15256.2 ↗]
Think.Check.Submit initiative. Helping researchers identify trusted journals and publishers. Retrieved February 2026. [thinkchecksubmit.org ↗]
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Code of conduct and best practice guidelines for journal editors. Retrieved February 2026. [publicationethics.org ↗]
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Journal application and inclusion criteria. Retrieved February 2026. [doaj.org ↗]

Suggested Citation

APA

Manusights. (2026). How to identify predatory journals in biomedicine. Retrieved from https://manusights.com/resources/predatory-journals-biomedical

MLA

Manusights. "How to Identify Predatory Journals in Biomedicine." Manusights, 2026, manusights.com/resources/predatory-journals-biomedical.

VANCOUVER

Manusights. How to identify predatory journals in biomedicine [Internet]. 2026. Available from: https://manusights.com/resources/predatory-journals-biomedical

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