Characteristics and Practices of Predatory Journals and Publishers: Protocol for A Scoping Review

Introduction: Early definitions describe predatory publishers as outlets that “publish counterfeit journals to exploit the open-access model in which the author pays” and that are “dishonest and lack transparency.” Predatory journals adapt quickly and apply different tactics to avoid flagging and measures designed to stop them, which is an implicit limitation to any static definition and fixed checklist to identify them. This adaptive behavior necessitates that our understanding of predatory characteristics be continually revised and modified. Moreover, a previous scoping review of the characteristics of predatory journals excluded non-empirical insights. Also, the proliferation of AI tools has substantially eased the creation of fraudulent scientific papers, aligning perfectly with the nature of predatory publishers, thereby contributing to the surge in predatory journals. Thus, our scoping review aims to identify the characteristics and practices of predatory publishers/journals and to develop a draft taxonomy of predatory journals' characteristics. Methods: A scoping review will be conducted by searching MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, Academic Search Premier, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, complemented by searching grey literature, white papers, and websites of key organizations and publishers. Articles published between 2010–2025 in any language will be included, encompassing empirical, non-empirical, opinion, and commentary sources describing characteristics of predatory journals. A two-stage screening process will be conducted using Covidence. Data extraction will capture bibliographic details, study type, reported characteristics, and proposed definitions. Bibliographic information, study characteristics, context, and predatory publishing details will be categorized and summarized using quantitative analysis. Quantitative data will be summarized descriptively, while thematic analysis will be used to draft a taxonomy of predatory publishing practices. Ethics and dissemination: No ethics approval is required as this review uses published articles. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal and conference.