Predatory publishing: Evaluating conference invitations

To check the reliability of a conference, answer the following questions:

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 this conference has been held?
• Have you or your colleagues attended this conference before?
• Is it clear what fees will be charged (conference fee, registration fees, …) and if these will be waived if you are accepted as a speaker?
• Are any 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? Can you find all the information presented in a proper way such as the (attendance fees, submission date, conference date, editorial committee, program details, venue)?
• 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 published proceedings and to which indexers it will submit the proceedings for evaluation?

• Is the publisher of the proceedings a member of a recognized industry initiative such as COPE, DOAJ, OASPA?

Think, Check. Attend. CC BY 2.0