Think. Check. Submit. has launched new Arabic and French videos alongside an interactive journal checklist to help researchers identify trusted publishers and avoid predatory publishing. Lorraine Estelle from Think. Check. Submit. discusses how these multilingual and interactive resources are designed to be easily embedded in global research-support and training activities.
Earlier this year, Think. Check. Submit. (TCS) surveyed and held focus groups with librarians and information professionals to ask how TCS could better support them in helping researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. They told us they particularly needed short videos, more translated resources, especially in French, and web content they could link to. Their feedback shaped the new resources: they wanted materials that could be embedded in training and guidance, and they told us some researchers would benefit from more interactive support.
New videos in Arabic and French
Given our limited resources, each year we focus our outreach activity on a different region of the world. This year, our committee agreed to focus on resources for Arabic- and French-speaking countries in North Africa and the Middle East. To support the checklists already available, we created short videos in both languages. The videos introduce the core principles of TCS, highlight the questions researchers should ask before submitting their work and help them recognise warning signs of predatory publishing.
Watch the videos below and share them with researchers, librarians and research-support teams who would benefit from practical guidance in Arabic or French.
We are grateful to the volunteer translators who made these videos possible. The Forum for Open Research in MENA translated the video script into Arabic, and Gala García Reátegui, Managing Editor at DOAJ, translated it into French.
Why trusted publishing guidance matters
Researchers today face an increasingly complex publishing landscape. Alongside trusted scholarly journals and publishers, predatory journals and publishers seek to exploit researchers, often without providing the peer review, editorial oversight and other services expected from credible scholarly publications.
The consequences of publishing in a predatory journal can extend beyond financial loss. Researchers may find that their work receives limited visibility and recognition, and publishing in a questionable journal can damage professional reputations. For early-career researchers in particular, these consequences can be difficult to overcome. More widely, predatory publishing can reduce confidence in scholarly communication.
In this environment, TCS provides a simple, practical way for researchers to assess journals and publishers before submitting their work.
TCS offers free checklists, guidance and other resources to help researchers pause, ask the right questions and make informed decisions about where to publish. Predatory publishing is a global problem, and making these resources available in different languages helps researchers access guidance in a way that works for them.
An interactive checklist for journals
We have also developed an interactive version of our journal checklist. The tool asks researchers to assess whether a journal is trustworthy by answering a short series of evidence-based questions about peer review, indexing, fees, contact details and publisher practices. If users are unsure about an answer, they can explore further guidance and get practical tips on what to check next. This makes the checklist more engaging and encourages researchers to spend more time evaluating the journal before they submit their work.
This format, with tips and guidance, is important. As one librarian who responded to our survey said, “Without instruction on how to do it, most researchers struggle to assess a journal on their own. They’re just not used to looking at journals in this way.”
Once again, this new interactive resource was only possible because Oliver Cocks, Head of Content Retention at Springer Nature, volunteered his time and talents to make it for us. We hope soon to have an interactive checklist for books and chapters.
TCS recognises that one size does not fit all, which is why we provide advice and guidance in a range of formats and languages. Predatory journals and publishers are a global problem, and making our resources available in different languages is an important part of our work to support researchers worldwide. We want researchers everywhere to have access to clear, practical information that can help them make informed decisions about where they publish.
TCS encourages librarians, publishers, research-support professionals, universities and research organisations to share these videos and resources with researchers, and to incorporate them into training, workshops, websites and other research-support activities. Please embed the videos in training, add the checklist to library guidance pages, or share the links with early-career researchers and help spread the word.
Useful links:
- Arabic video:
- Arabic checklist for journals
- Arabic checklist for books and chapters
- French video:
- French checklist for journals
- French checklist for books and chapters
- Interactive checklist for journals
- Think. Check. Submit. website
Lorraine Estelle manages the communications and administration for Think. Check. Submit. (TCS). This international cross-sector initiative helps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. Through a range of tools and practical resources, it aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.
