Beyond predatory journals: peer review transparency as a preventive strategy for editorial integrity in scholarly...

Since the emergence of predatory journals, the integrity of scientific communications has faced serious challenges, particularly when this integrity is assessed solely through external indicators which, while providing an initial safeguard, do not ensure in practice whether there was a rigorous, independent peer review, or whether traceable evidence exists regarding the decision leading to acceptance. This study focuses on complementing existing detection systems with transparency in the peer-review process as a preventive strategy against the current opacity of this process in most scientific journals. Furthermore, this structural vulnerability is not limited to clearly deceptive journals but may also be reflected in legitimate journals due to weaknesses in governance, poor oversight, or manipulation by unethical actors, without necessarily implying an explicit intent to engage in misconduct. This transparency alone does not solve the problem of predatory journals, but by intervening at the most critical and vulnerable point, it could be considered a strategy that-through explicit peer review policies (ex ante), process traceability (in-process), and auditability (ex post)-and progressive or full disclosure of review reports-can prevent anomalies or mitigate the impact of malpractice on editorial integrity. Finally, this study does not seek to replace existing predatory journal identification systems but to complement the verification of editorial processes with strategies that are integral and genuine, ensuring trust and truth in scientific communications.