Since 2017, Cabells has compiled and evaluated e-journals suspected of being fake, predatory or simply problematic. The Cabells team uses over 70 transparent criteria for their assessment. Journals that meet several of these criteria are included in the list of potentially predatory journals. As of 2026, this comprises over 20,000 journals that are suspected of threatening research integrity, harming academics and exploiting the Open Access model.
Cabells distinguishes between severe, moderate and minor breaches in the categories of integrity, peer review, publication practices, indexing and metrics, fees, access and copyright, business practices, and website. The aim is to make a clear distinction between fraudulent behaviour that violates established publishing standards and general quality deficiencies.
You can search for publications in the database by title, publisher or ISSN. Click on the search results to see more bibliographic details and specific information about the violations. Each journal evaluation is based on a documented assessment process. The reports categorise the issues identified and provide a transparent overview of the journal in question.
The evaluation criteria are updated based on ongoing user feedback and input from the academic community. At the same time, the Cabells team continuously monitors the journal landscape to identify new risks.
Cabells also provides its own online user guide containing instructions on search strategies, FAQs and a glossary.
You can find further general information on fake journals and predatory publishing on the University Library’s publication services website.
Please pay attention to both the provider and the University Library’s terms of use.
The database is available on campus via uniKAT and DBIS. Authentication is based on your IP address; no separate login is required. University of Graz staff and students can also access the database remotely via VPN. Please note that you must enter https://univpn.uni-graz.at/ub in the VPN client’s address field.
Have you discovered our video tutorials on uniKAT, literature research and literature management? We also offer training courses during the semester. You can find more information under Support & Courses.
If you have any questions about this database, please contact ub.zeitschriften(at)uni-graz.at.