By Lilian H. Hill
Predatory publishing refers to exploitative academic publishing practices where journals charge authors significant fees without providing the standard editorial and publishing services. Nicholas et al. (2017) stated that “predatory publishing, disregarding editorial and publication practices for the sake of monetary gains, is thus widely held to be debasing scholarly research and polluting the scholarly communications system, indeed, to be a real threat to the very integrity of science, its credibility and trustworthiness” (p. 2). For those of us not in the sciences, predatory journals will degrade the integrity and salience of publications in your discipline. They are also damaging to your career.
Jeffrey Beall, a retired academic librarian, is frequently credited with coining the term "predatory publishers." He defined these entities as organizations that “publish counterfeit journals to exploit the open-access model in which the author pays. These predatory publishers are dishonest and lack transparency. They aim to dupe researchers, especially those inexperienced in scholarly communication” (p. 179). Beall refers to predatory journals as engaging in publishing fraud. His website, entitled Beall’s List of Potential Predatory Journals and Publishers, is still available online but has not been updated since 2021 because organizations such as CABELLS have taken responsibility for identifying predatory journals.
Dangers of Predatory Publishing
Submitting your work to a predatory journal will likely result in quick publication; however, it will be a wasted effort because articles in predatory journals are discounted by dissertation committees, academic search committees, and colleagues tasked with deciding on your tenure and promotion. Publishing in predatory journals will:
· damage your reputation
· reduce your chances of being hired
· impair career advancement
· weaken grant proposals
· diminish your intellectual property rights
The enticement of quick publication can be tempting, especially during the tenure-track years when the pressure to publish is most intense. To safeguard your career, it is essential to develop the ability to distinguish between predatory journals and legitimate ones.
Identifying Predatory Journals
Avoiding predatory journals requires vigilance and thorough evaluation. By critically assessing a journal’s practices, transparency, and reputation, researchers can protect their work from being associated with exploitative and disreputable publishers. This ensures that their research contributes to the academic community’s legitimate and respected body of knowledge. Things to look for include:
Unsolicited Emails
Receiving frequent and aggressive emails inviting you to submit articles or join editorial boards, often with overly flattering language. Look for misspellings or misrepresentations of your name (i.e., Dr. Last Name, First Name), enthusiastic phrasing, grammar errors, offers to reduce publication fees, extremely tight timelines, lack of defined journal topic, and requests for manuscripts to be sent directly to an individual’s email. See the example email below that exhibits these characteristics (with some details redacted). It was directed to my email on June 3, 2024, but thanks to my university’s IT professionals, it was shunted to my junk mail folder.
Journal Website
Predatory journals will often claim to publish a broad array of topics, rather than being focused. The website may closely imitate the websites of legitimate publishers; however, scrutiny will reveal grammatical errors, poor design, and broken links. Limited information is provided about the editorial board, peer review process, and article processing charges (APCs).
Editorial Board
Editorial board members may be non-existent, have fake credentials, or be listed without their permission. Frequent changes in the editorial board may indicate instability or a lack of credibility.
Peer Review Process
Articles are accepted very quickly, sometimes within days, suggesting a lack of rigorous peer review. Minimal or no constructive feedback is provided to authors, indicating that the peer review process is either superficial or non-existent.
Article Processing Charges (APCs)
Excessive publication fees that are not clearly stated upfront or that are justified by dubious claims of providing extensive services. There may be hidden charges, meaning additional costs that are not disclosed until after submission and acceptance.
Indexing and Impact Factor
False Claims of being indexed in reputable databases (like PubMed, Scopus, or Web of Science) without verification. Use of fake impact factors or metrics.
Ethical Standards
Lack of ethical standards and the absence of clear policies on plagiarism,
copyright, and conflicts of interest. Unrealistically fast publication times indicate
a lack of thorough review and editing processes.
Steps to Avoid Predatory Journals
Graduate students, trainees, and early-career researchers worldwide are being encouraged by predatory journals to take the easiest route to enhance their CVs, gain recognition, and advance in their careers by publishing their work in online journals that solicit content. To avoid falling into this trap, several steps can help you identify predatory journals:
1. Verify Journal Credibility: Use directories and databases of legitimate journals, such as the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and the list of journals indexed in PubMed and Scopus. Refer to lists of known predatory journals, such as Cabells Predatory Reports.
2.
Research the Publisher: Investigate the publisher’s history and reputation.
Established publishers usually have a track record of legitimate and respected
journals. Reach out to members of the editorial board to confirm their
involvement and the legitimacy of the journal.
3.
Evaluate Journal Metrics: Search for the journal's impact factor
in recognized databases, ensuring it aligns with the claims made by the
journal. Verify if the journal is listed in trusted indexing services.
4.
Peer Review Process: Ensure the journal provides a clear, transparent
description of its peer review process. Be wary of journals that promise
unusually fast publication times without a valid explanation.
5. Read Published Articles: Review articles previously published in the journal to assess their quality, relevance, and adherence to academic standards.
6. Seek Peer Opinions: Consult colleagues, mentors, or online academic communities to get opinions on the journal’s credibility. Look for reviews or experiences shared by other researchers about the journal. You could also reach out to your university’s librarians for assistance.
To address predatory publishing, scholars at all levels can resist a predatory journal’s urge to publish hastily. Scientific literacy should encompass the ability to recognize publishing fraud, and libraries should remove predatory publishers from their online catalogs. The most egregious offenders can typically be identified with minimal effort: their websites often contain grammatical errors and list fake contact details. However, the borderline cases are more challenging to detect, requiring more vigilance.
References
Beall, J. (2012). Predatory publishers are corrupting open access. Nature, 489(7415), 179. https//doi.org/10.1038/489179a
Nicholas, D., Rodríguez-Bravo, B., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Herman, E., Clark, D., Xu, J., Abrizah, A., Świgoń, M., Watkinson, A., Sims, D., Jamali, H., Tenopir, C., & Allard, S. (2023). Early career researchers and predatory journals during the Covid-19 pandemic. An international analysis. Profesional de la Información, 32(1), e320117. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2023.ene.17
