Glossary
Crossref
Crossref registers digital object identifiers for scholarly works and holds the metadata behind them. Because members deposit dates alongside each record, Crossref data can be used to measure how long journals actually take, rather than what they claim.
Reviewed 1 August 2026
In practice
Why DOIs are a usable check
A DOI that does not resolve, or that resolves to a different paper, is a concrete failure with no innocent explanation. It takes under a minute to test.
Its limits
Not every publisher deposits received and accepted dates. Where they are absent, no timing can be computed, and stating so is more honest than reproducing a publisher's own claim.
Common misconceptions
Having DOIs does not make a journal legitimate. Registration is a paid membership service, not an assessment.