IPSA Webinar Provides Guidance on Identifying Predatory Journals

To mark World Science Day for Peace and Development on 10 November, IPSA hosted a webinar titled The Predation Index: A Tool to Discover Predatory Journals. Chaired by IPSA Executive Director Kim Fontaine-Skronski, the session featured International Political Science Review (IPSR) Co-Editors Daniel Stockemer and Annika Hinze, who discussed the issue of predatory journals and introduced the Predation Index, a new online tool on the IPSA website designed to help political science researchers identify potentially predatory publications. 

In his presentation, Prof. Stockemer examined the rise of predatory journals and their impact on academic integrity, explaining how open-access publishing and “publish or perish” pressures enable journals that offer rapid publication without proper peer review. Citing his own research findings, he revealed that many predatory journals even accept undergraduate and AI-generated papers, underscoring the risks they pose to researchers’ credibility and the importance of careful journal selection.

Prof. Hinze then presented the Predation Index, outlining how she and her co-authors developed 10 key indicators to assess a journal’s credibility. She demonstrated how the 0–10 scoring system helps identify potentially predatory journals, and went on to share validation results comparing leading political science journals with those on Beall’s List. Prof. Hinze emphasized that the Index is a dynamic, community-driven tool aimed at promoting transparency and safeguarding academic integrity.

The presentations were followed by a Q&A session that saw participants raise practical questions about predatory publishing, including how to spot fake editorial boards, what to do after publishing in a predatory journal, and the risks associated with citing such sources. 

The presentation section of this webinar recording is now available via the Predation Index page on the IPSA website, where you can also assess academic journals.