Guides
Written from the same dataset the rest of the site runs on. Every figure in these guides is one you can check against the journal pages, and we say where each number comes from.
How to verify a journal is legitimate
Seven checks, in about twenty minutes: verify the ISSN independently, confirm indexing at the source, find the fee in writing, and test the editorial board.
22 Aug 2026
Impact Factor vs h-index vs CiteScore: what they actually measure
Three metrics, three different things being counted. Across our directory the median h-index is 26 — a number that mostly reflects age and volume.
22 Aug 2026
What DOAJ, PubMed and Scopus indexing actually means (and doesn't)
What each registry checks before listing a journal, and why indexing is a floor rather than a guarantee. 3,620 of our journals hold a full DOAJ record.
22 Aug 2026
Read & Publish agreements: how researchers pay $0 in APC without knowing it
Many institutions already hold deals that cover the charge in full. With a median APC of $3,140, not checking is an expensive habit.
22 Aug 2026
Plan S compliance: what funded researchers must check before submitting
The three compliant routes, the CC BY licence requirement, and the hybrid-APC mistake that costs grant money without achieving compliance.
22 Aug 2026
How much does it cost to publish in a biomedical journal?
We hold published fees for 4,496 biomedical journals. The median is $3,140 — but a quarter charge under $2,160, and 1,290 charge nothing at all.
21 Aug 2026
Biomedical journals that charge nothing to publish
1,290 of the journals we track charge no publication fee at all — and 299 are DOAJ-listed with an h-index above 25. Free to publish does not mean marginal.
21 Aug 2026
How to get an article processing charge waived
Of the DOAJ journals that charge a publication fee, 78% say they will waive it — 1,811 out of 2,330. The waiver is a standard feature, not a favour.
21 Aug 2026
How long does peer review actually take?
Across 3,620 journals reporting it, the median time to publication is 14 weeks. The fastest tenth manage 7; the slowest tenth take 29 or more.
21 Aug 2026
How to choose a journal for your paper
Most researchers choose a journal by reputation and work backwards. Doing it in the right order — scope, indexing, cost, speed — saves months.
21 Aug 2026