· Journal Intelligence
Free Public Tool BETA · OpenAlex

Before you submit, check the journal’s publishing signals

Search by journal name or ISSN to review publication volume, authorship patterns, predatory-list title hits, and open-metadata transparency before submission.

Try: 0346-251X (System) 1932-6203 (PLOS ONE) 2050-7526 (J Mater Chem C)

Querying OpenAlex...

Caution score 0–100 · lower is better
Why this score?
What drove the caution level, and how to interpret it fairly.
▾
Publication behaviour
Growth pace, output mix, and topic focus — is the publishing pattern plausible?
▾
Authorship patterns
Are recent papers dominated by a narrow author or institution network?
▾
Integrity & metadata transparency
Predatory-list hits, retraction records, and how traceable recent articles are.
▾
Trends & context charts
Annual volume over time, plus where recent authors are based (context only — never scored).
Context ▾
Annual Publication Volume
Where recent authors are based (Top 8)
Shown for context only. Author geography never affects the caution score — many excellent national and regional journals naturally publish mostly from their home community.
Multiple journals found for — select the correct one:
🔍

Enter a journal to begin

Search by ISSN (preferred) or journal name. ISSN gives the most accurate results — you can find it on the journal's website or in any article header.

How to use this tool
Why this tool and how to read the signals
Use this tool as a first-pass due-diligence aid, not as a final judgement on journal quality.
💡 Why this tool?

This tool brings key risk signals into one place before submission: publication volume, authorship patterns, predatory-list title hits, and metadata transparency. It does not make the final decision, but it helps you see what needs closer checking.

🔍 Search by ISSN or name

Enter a journal ISSN for the most precise lookup, or type the journal name. Live suggestions help you select the intended journal early; if you type an exact journal title and click Analyse, the app will go directly to that journal rather than showing a best-match list.

📊 Read the caution score

The score (0–100, lower is better) combines a Beall’s List standalone-journal title match, publication growth, citation uptake relative to output, authorship concentration, metadata completeness, and DOAJ/open-access status. A Beall’s List match sets a minimum high-caution score of 65.

📈 Check the charts

The Annual Volume chart highlights unusual growth. The author-geography chart shows where recent authors are based, purely as context — it is never used in the score. Interpret both alongside the journal’s scope and editorial profile.

🌍 Geography is never scored

Where a journal’s authors come from says nothing on its own about quality or integrity. Many strong national, regional, and language-specific journals naturally publish mostly from their home context, so this tool shows author geography as neutral context only and never counts it toward the caution score.

✅ When to proceed

A low score can be reassuring, but always verify current indexing on the journal website, check whether the editorial board appears genuine, and confirm whether the journal is listed in DOAJ if APCs are involved.

⚠️

For reference only. This tool brings together bibliometric signals from OpenAlex and journal-title matches from Beall's List standalone journals. It supports initial due diligence, but it does not definitively classify journals as predatory or legitimate. Signals may reflect benign growth, regional publishing profiles, historical list entries, or data gaps.