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Journal Credibility Self-Check

Answer honestly about a journal you’re personally evaluating. This tool never asks for or stores the journal’s name, and never outputs a verdict, only which of your own answers are worth investigating further.

This tool never names or stores which journal you're checking, and never outputs "predatory" or "legitimate." Directly deciding that for you would be legally and reputationally risky — and it's ultimately your judgment call to make with the evidence.

Questions about this tool

What does this check assess?
Indexing, peer review practice, editorial transparency and fee practices: the signals that together indicate whether a journal is credible or predatory.
Is this a blacklist?
No. Single blacklists go stale and carry errors. This is a structured self-check: it helps you weigh the signals for yourself, and the conclusion stays yours.
Is this tool free?
Yes. It is part of the research-literacy layer of Bizarus, which stays free permanently. No account, no sign-up, no usage limit.
Does anything I type leave my browser?
No. The tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or stored after you close the page.

More free tools from Bizarus

Search String Builder PRISMA Flow Diagram Generator Research Question Health Check Reference Formatter Search Log Builder One-Page References Decision Helper

Unsure what a method term means? The research terminology defines the vocabulary these tools use, in plain language. Or see the tools used end to end on a real question.

Checking one journal is quick. Checking eighty is a project.

The workspace appraises every included source in place, checks DOIs against Crossref for retractions and corrections, and — unlike tools built on the clinical hierarchy — never ranks an interview study beneath a trial. It reports a source as not checked rather than as clear.

How this compares with Covidence, Rayyan and Elicit → Ask for access →
This tool stays free permanently, with or without an account. That is a commitment, not a trial.