"Hijacked journals are duplicate or fake websites of legitimate ones utilizing the title, ISSN and other information of the reputable journal. They are often created by a malicious third party for the purpose of fraudulently offering academicians the opportunity to rapidly publish their research online for a fee."
Still not sure? Ask a Librarian!Tips for identifying highjacked journals:
Predatory publishers or journals charge authors a fee for publication with no intention of providing the expected services – such as editorial or peer review – in return. These predatory journals exploit the academic need to “publish or perish.” Also known as fake journals, questionable journals, illegitimate journals, deceptive journals, dark journals, or journals “operating in bad faith”, some may be intentionally predatory, with the goal of making money without delivering services, while others may simply be mismanaged or inexperienced. A journal lacking in strong editorial or technical standards may still be operating in good faith. A predatory publisher intends to deceive or harm.
It is important to realize:
Open access publishing is not predatory. Predatory publishers are exploiting the open access publishing model.
There are different publication standards and practices across disciplines and around the world.
Claims that publisher is “predatory” may be grounded in bias or racism. For example, the country a publisher is in is not a good indicator of quality or ethical practices.
Proxy measures of quality, such as Journal Impact Factor, are often selective in nature and biased toward established journals and publishers who benefit from brand-name recognition. Lacking these features doesn't indicate that a publisher or journal is predatory.
Adapted with permission from
There are several factors you will want to consider when deciding where to submit your article for publication.
To start, you might look at the journals you read, that your colleagues read and publish in, and at who you cite in your work. Then, consider if any of those journals are potential places to publish. Ask yourself:
You will also want to assess the the impact and quality of any journal, including citation-based impact factors, altmetrics, and the impact of open access journals.
Publishing your research results is key to advancing your discipline – and your career – but with so many journals in your field, how can you be sure that you’re choosing a reputable, trustworthy journal?
Tips to confirm a journal’s credentials and decide if it will help you reach the right audience with your research, and make an impact on your career.
There are many journals that focus specifically on publishing undergraduate research. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) keeps an ever growing list of journals that feature undergraduate work. However, many of those listed by CUR are hosted by a specific institution and might only publish the work of their own students, and others might have publishing fees, or might not be peer-reviewed, so read the descriptions carefully. And, as always, carefully review each journal's website, published articles, and the author submission guidelines before submitting your work.
Below is a list of selected journals that SBU undergraduates are eligible to submit to, organized into the following categories:
Peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate scholarship run by the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society.
AJUR is a national, independent, faculty peer-reviewed, open-source, quarterly, multidisciplinary student research journal.
Submission of original, scholarly research articles is open to undergraduates from any accredited college or university. BJUR publishes scholarship across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
The journal accepts research papers written by current undergraduate students from accredited colleges and universities around the globe. The research can be on any topic.
An open access academic journal focusing on publishing high quality original work across a range of disciplines, especially on work in the social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to the publication of outstanding scholarship by undergraduates and their mentors. Accepts submissions from all academic disciplines, including original research in the the form of articles and literature reviews, as well as creative work in a variety of media.
Multidisciplinary and faculty-reviewed journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research done by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.
Multidisciplinary scholarly journal produced by a team of Monmouth College student editors and faculty members with peer and faculty reviewers for each article.
An established online, peer-reviewed journal publishing high-quality undergraduate student research. The journal welcomes academic articles from all disciplinary areas and all universities.
SBU's exclusively undergraduate, peer-reviewed journal for humanities and social sciences.
Double-blind, educator-reviewed print and electronic journal published annually. A forum for multidisciplinary undergraduate research and creative endeavors including case studies, conceptual pieces, creative writing, journalism writings, literature reviews, original art, photography, and scientific studies. Highlights mentored undergraduate scholarly products across all disciplines from all types of higher education institutions.
The official undergraduate journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Submissions are accepted from undergraduates in the following categories: STEM, Social Science, Humanities, Fine Art, and Creative Writing.
