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I have seen a journal, in the Computer Science field, that is predatory according to the Beall list (sorry if its not well written), but I see that this journal appears indexed in Scopus and Scimago; so I was wondering how to determine if a journal is predatory or not?

For example, I know that even some journals from Elsevier or Springer charge different prices for publishing an accepted article, and according to some colleagues if a journal charges for publication then it could be a predatory one, but the aforementioned editorials charge also so to whom believe?

I was also wondering if the B list is also accurate, I am starting to have my doubts about it.

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    There's no one criterion or list that definitely marks a journal as "predatory" or not. You should simply judge for yourself whether the articles it publishes are of good quality and worthy of publication.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Mar 9, 2016 at 4:14
  • if a journal charges for publication then it could be a predatory one your colleagues seem to have a sound approach to scientific publishing.
    – Cape Code
    Commented Mar 9, 2016 at 7:15

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Indexing in Scopus does not necessarily mean that a journal is not predatory. From the guidelines for being indexed in Scopus:

-The Journal should consist of peer‐reviewed content

-The Journal should be published on a regular basis (have an ISSN number that has been registered with the International ISSN Centre)

-Content should be relevant and readable for an international audience (at minimum have references in Roman script and English language abstracts and article titles)

-The Journal should have a publication ethics and publication malpractice statement

These guidelines could potentially be satisfied by a journal that Beall's list considers predatory. Many pay-to-publish journals advertise "peer review", but it may not even be solicited/may not matter in the "decision" to accept the manuscript.

There also can be information on why the specific journal or publisher is considered predatory on https://scholarlyoa.com. I generally have high confidence in Beall's list--predatory journals do not have a great incentive to turn legitimate.

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