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Resources for publishing: Predatory Conferences

Predatory Conferences

Criteria to Identify Predatory Conferences

Criteria for identifying predatory conferences is similar to that for journals.  Below is the criteria from Think. Check. Attend.

Organizers & Sponsors

  • Are you aware of the society or the association organizing this conference?
  • Can you easily identify the venue of the conference?
  • Is it the first time that this conference is being held?
  • Have you or your colleagues attended this conference before?
  • Is it clear what fees will be charged (conference fee, registration fees, …, etc.) and would these be waived if you are accepted as a speaker?
  • Are any of the sponsors involved in the conference?
  • Are you aware of any of them, especially with industry-related fields such as Engineering & Biomedical research?
  • Did you check the conference website? Is all the information (such as the attendance fees, submission date, conference date, editorial committee, program details and venue) presented in a proper way?
  • Have you read any papers from this conference proceedings before? 

Agenda & Editorial Committee

  • Is there clear information about the timeline and the agenda for the conference?
  • Do the scope and objectives of the conference fit your field and core interest or not?
  • Have you heard of the Keynote speakers?
  • Is the Editorial Committee listed on the website?
  • Have you heard of the Editorial Committee members before?
  • Is the Committee clear about the editorial control over presentations and the type of peer-review it uses?

Conference Proceedings

  • Is the Organizing Committee clear about where the proceedings will be published?
  • Does the conference make it clear which indexing services it can guarantee the published proceedings and to which indexers will it submit the proceedings for evaluation?
  • Is the publisher of the proceedings a member of a recognized industry initiative such as COPE, DOAJ, OASPA?
  • Also refer to Think. Check. Submit. check list for more details about publishing in the right journal at https://thinkchecksubmit.org/check/.