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Table 1 Characteristics of checklists (oldest to most recently published)

From: Checklists to detect potential predatory biomedical journals: a systematic review

Study

Checklist name

Number of items

Items weighted Y/N

Time to complete min

Methods used to develop checklist

(NR = Not reported)

Qualitative guidance Y/N

Quantitative guidance Y/N

Checklists from electronic journal databases n = 53

[REFERENCE CHECKLIST] Shamseer, 2017 [13]

Salient characteristics of potential predatory journals

13

N

0–5

Cross-sectional analysis 93 predatory journals, 99 OA, 100 subscription based journals assessed

No

No

Beall, 2012 [10]

Criteria for Determining Predatory Open-Access Publishers

5

No

10+ min

Criteria based on AOSPAa Code of Conduct, two COPEb publications

No

No

Beall, 2013 [15]

Some warning signs of questionable publishers

7

No

0–5 min

Observational research on own emails received

No

No

Crawford, 2014 [82]

No title

11

No

6–10 min

Assessed all criteria in Beall’s criteria

Yes

No

Knoll, 2014 [83]

Avoiding Predatory OA Journals

17

No

0–5 min

Works cited

No

No

Lukic, 2014 [84]

No title

13

No

0–5 min

Multiple references

No

No

Beall, 2015 [85]

Criteria for Determining Predatory Open-Access Publishers

5

No

10+ min

Criteria based on COPE documents: Code of Conduct and Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publication

No

No

Bhad, 2015 [86]

How should one suspect a journal could be a predatory journal?

9

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Bradley-Springer, 2015 [87]

No title

6

No

0–5 min

Multiple references

No

No

Hemmat Esfe, 2015 [88]

Features of the Fake Journals

9

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

INANE Predatory Publishing Practices Collaborative, 2015 [89]

Guidelines for evaluating the integrity of a journal / Red flags

7

No

0–5 min

Limited literature review

No

No

Pamukcu Gunaydin, 2015 [90]

No title

10

No

0–5 min

Authors’ top 10 based on other references

No

No

Proehl, 2015 [91]

Guidelines for evaluating the integrity of a journal - Red flags

7

No

0–5 min

References to other checklists: COPE etc.

No

No

Stone, 2015 [92]

Guidelines for evaluating the integrity of a journal

6

No

0–5 min

Other credible resources: COPE, INANEc, other

No

No

Yucha, 2015 [93]

Guidelines for Evaluating the Integrity of a Journal - Red flags

10

No

0–5 min

Multiple references to other checklists

No

No

Cariappa, 2016 [94]

Telltale signs - Something is wrong!

7

No

0–5

Some literature cited

No

No

Carroll, 2016 [95]

Common Practices of Predatory Open Access Publications

4

No

0–5 min

Limited literature review

No

No

Dadkhah, 2016 [96]

Criteria to rank predatory journals

14

Yes

10+ min

Observational study of 150 journals 80 predatory, 70 non

Yes

Yes

Fraser, 2016 [97]

Red Flags for Recognizing Predatory Journals

6

No

0–5 min

Two citations

No

No

Glick, 2016 [98]

What you can expect from a predatory publisher

7

No

0–5 min

Multiple citations

No

No

Glick, 2016a [99]

Clues suggesting a “predatory” journal

11

No

0–5 min

Multiple references

No

No

Hansoti, 2016 [100]

Overall Approach to Choosing the Journal

11

No

0–5 min

Extensive literature review

Yes

No

Morley, 2016 [101]

10 steps to spot a predatory publisher

10

No

0–5 min

A few citations

Yes

No

Nolan, 2016 [102]

None section title exists but not title

5

No

0–5 min

None noted

No

No

Ward, 2016 [103]

No title

8

No

6–10 min

None listed

No

No

Abadi, 2017 [16]

No title

26

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

Balehegn, 2017 [30]

No title

5

No

0–5 min

References

No

No

Berger, 2017 [17]

Detailed Characteristics of Predatory Journals

15

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

Das, 2017 [18]

How to identify predators?

15

No

0–5 min

Two citations

No

No

Erfanmanesh 2017 [19]

No title

18

No

6–10 min

Multiple references

No

No

Eriksson, 2017 [20]

Characteristics of a predatory journal

25

No

10+

Limited literature review

No

No

Janodia, 2017 [21]

No title

9

No

6–10 min

NR

Yes

No

Khan, 2017 [22]

Attributes, characteristics and practices of potential predatory journals

9

No

0–5 min

Citations

No

No

Klyce, 2017 [23]

Common characteristics of predatory journals

13

No

0–5 min

Limited literature review

No

No

Manca, 2017 [24]

No title

6

No

0–5 min

Limited literature review

No

No

Miller, 2017 [25]

Signs of a Predatory Publisher

8

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Misra, 2017 [26]

Red flags based on which one may suspect the legitimacy of a journal

17

No

0–5 min

Literature review and authors’ experiences

No

No

Mouton, 2017 [27]

Comparing the characteristics of good practice in scholarly publishing with those of predatory publishing

7

No

0–5 min

In-depth assessment of journals identified by Beall’s list where South African authors published

No

No

Oren, 2017 [28]

Obvious signs of predatory journals

7

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Shamseer, 2017 [13]

Salient characteristics of potential predatory journals

13

No

0–5 min

Observational study 93 predatory journals, 99 OAd, 100 subscription-based journals assessed

No

No

Stratton, 2017 [29]

Characteristics of Health and Medical Journal Publishing Formats - Open Access Predatory

4

No

0–5 min

Cited references

No

No

Ajuwon, 2018 [33]

Characteristics of Predatory Publishers and Journals

12

No

0–5 min

Citations from other sources

No

No

Bowman, 2018 [34]

Identifying Predatory Journals and Publishers

29

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

Gerberi, 2018 [35]

Quick List of Predatory Publisher Warning Signs

7

No

0–5 min

Limited literature review

No

No

Kokol, 2018 [37]

No title

4

No

0–5

Analysis of papers 2013–2017 predatory Beall’s vs non

No

No

Lewinski, 2018 [38]

Eight tips to identify a predatory journal or publisher

8

No

0–5

NR

Yes

No

McCann, 2018 [31]

Guidelines for authors to avoid predatory publishers

25

No

0–5 min

Brief literature review

Yes

No

Memon, 2018 [39]

No title

14

No

6–10 min

Collecting emails and web pages of each journal /publisher. Used Beall’s list, PubMed, DOAJe, Thomson and Reuters now Clarivate Analytics

No

No

Nnaji, 2018 [40]

No title

11

No

6–10 min

Two references

No

No

O’Donnell, 2018 [32]

Identifying a predator

17

No

6–10 min

Other evidence-based checklist

No

No

Pamukcu Gunaydin, 2018 [36]

How to avoid sending your work to a predatory journal

5

No

0–5

Limited literature review

No

No

Power, 2018 [41]

No title

11

No

6–10 min

References COPE, INANE

No

No

Richtig, 2018 [42]

Criteria identified or suggested in the literature that can potentially be used to identify predatory journals

13

No

6–10

Literature review

No

No

Wikipedia, 2019 [104]

No title

10

No

0–5 min

Multiple citations

No

No

Checklists from university library websites n = 30

[REFERENCE CHECKLIST] Shamseer, 2017 [13]

Salient characteristics of potential predatory journals

13

N

0–5

Cross sectional analysis 93 predatory journals, 99 OA, 100 subscription-based journals assessed

No

No

Carlson, 2014 [43]

None

11

No

0–5 min

Based on personal experiences looking into questionable OA journals

No

No

Clark, 2015 [1]

None

5

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

University of Edinburgh, 2015 [44]

Some warning signs to look out for

4

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Africa Check, 2017 [45]

None

7

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Cabell’s – Clarivate, 2017 [46]

None

64

No

10+ min

Analysis by specialists see: https://www2.cabells.com/about-blacklist

No

No

Duke University Medical Center, 2017 [47]

Be iNFORMEd Checklist

6

No

0–5 min

NR

Yes

No

University of Calgary, 2017 [48]

No title

6

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Coopérer en information scientifique et technique, 2018 [49]

No title

35

No

10+ min

NR

No

No

Eaton, University of Calgary 2018 [50]

No title

12

No

0–5 min

Other sources cited

Yes

No

Lapinksi, Harvard, 2018 [51]

No title

3

No

0–5 min

NR

Yes

No

Sorbonne Université, 2018 [52]

Comment repérer un éditeur prédateur

12

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

University of Alberta, 2018 [54]

No title

19

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

University of British Columbia, 2018 [53]

No title

16

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

University of Toronto Libraries, 2018 [55]

Identifying Deceptive Publishers: A Checklist

22

Yes

6–10 min

NR

Yes

Yes

Dalhousie University, 2019 [56]

How to recognize predatory journals

6

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

McGill University, 2019 [57]

No title

4

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

McMaster University, 2019 [58]

No title

6

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Prater, American Journal Experts, 2019 [59]

No title

8

No

0–5 min

NR

Yes

No

Ryerson University Library, 2019 [60]

No title

5

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Université Laval, 2019 [61]

No title

8

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

University of Cambridge, 2019 [62]

No title

9

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

University of Pretoria, 2019 [63]

No title

19

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

University of Queensland Library, 2019 [65]

No title

6

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

University of Queensland Library, 2019a [64]

Red Flags for Open Access Journals

9

No

0–5 min

NR

Yes

No

University of Witwatersrand, 2019 [66]

Predatory Publisher Checklist

26

No

10+ min

NR

No

No

Canadian Association of Research Libraries, ND [67]

How to assess a journal A.K.A. How not to publish in an undesirable journal

12

No

0–5 min

NR

Yes

No

Columbia University Libraries, ND [68]

No title

5

No

0–5 min

NR

Yes

No

Technion Library, ND [69]

No title

10

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

UC Berkley, ND [70]

No title

3

No

0–5 min

Cited 1 paper

No

No

University of Ottawa Scholarly Communication, ND [71]

No title

12

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Checklists from YouTube n = 10

[REFERENCE CHECKLIST] Shamseer, 2017 [13]

Salient characteristics of potential predatory journals

13

N

0–5

Cross sectional analysis 93 predatory journals, 99 OA, 100 subscription-based journals assessed

No

No

Robbins, Western Sydney University, 2015 [72]

Red Flags

9

No

6–10 min

NR

No

No

Attia, 2017 [73]

Spot Predatory Publishers

4

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Kysh, USC Keck School of Medicine, 2017 [74]

Characteristics of Predatory Publishers

9

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

McKenna, Rhodes University, 2017 [75]

Predatory Publications: Shark Spotting

7

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Nicholson, University of Witwatersrand, 2017 [76]

Cautionary Checklist

36

No

10+ min

NR

No

No

Raszewski, 2017 [77]

What to watch out for

4

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Seal-Roberts, Springer Healthcare, 2017 [78]

So how do we recognize a predatory publisher?

10

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Menon, SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, India and Berryman, Cabell’s, 2018 [79]

Characteristics of Predatory Journals

7

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Office of Scholarly Communication, Cambridge University, 2018 [80]

None

12

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

Weigand, UNC Libraries, 2018 [81]

No title

5

No

0–5 min

NR

No

No

  1. aOASPA Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association
  2. bCOPE Committee on Publication Ethics
  3. cINANE International Academy of Nursing Editors
  4. dOA Open Access
  5. eDOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals