Predatory Publishing: How to Identify and Avoid Predatory Journals

 

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

 

Academic Multitasking Amid Competing Responsibilities: Finding Time to Publish

 

By Lilian H. Hill

 

In today's fast-paced academic environment, juggling multiple responsibilities while maintaining a consistent publication record can be an uphill battle. Between teaching, administrative duties, mentorship, and personal commitments, finding time to conduct research and publish can seem nearly impossible. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, as in the popular meme in the image below.

For tenure-track faculty, the pressure to publish is intense. A strong publication record is often essential for securing tenure and promotion. Faculty on the tenure-track must manage a multitude of other duties—teaching, grading, committee work, and the daily challenges of adjusting to a new role—which can easily cause writing responsibilities to be postponed and neglected. The fact that the tenure-track career years coincide with prime child-bearing years for female faculty members compounds the problem (Mason et al., 2013). These days, teaching-track faculty members also report pressure to publish while carrying a higher teaching load.

With strategic planning and effective time management, it is possible to balance these demands successfully. Here are some tips and insights on how to manage academic multitasking and ensure your research efforts do not fall by the wayside.

Examine Tenure Requirements

Understanding what “counts” for tenure and/or promotion will ensure that your efforts are beneficial. Activities, including grants and publications, considered important for tenure are discipline specific. It is important to become informed to structure your time most effectively. It can be discouraging to receive a negative annual or three-year review and learn that you have invested time in tasks that do not further your career.

 

Prioritize Your Tasks

Once you familiarize yourself with what activities are valued, identify your primary academic goals. Determine what is most important to you—publishing papers, securing research funding, or advancing a specific project. Pursue a single research agenda so your efforts will yield positive results.

 

Divide large goals into smaller, manageable tasks. This makes them less intimidating and easier to tackle. Set clear, achievable deadlines for each task. Many people use a whiteboard to keep these priorities visible.

 

Master Time Management

Allocate specific time slots for different activities throughout your day. Dedicate uninterrupted periods to writing and research. Treat these blocks as non-negotiable appointments. Avoid multitasking, where you switch back and forth among different types of tasks. Research on brain development and concentration indicates that dividing attention between multiple tasks reduces productivity, decreases efficiency, and increases the likelihood of making mistakes (Pace, 2017).

 

Aim to write every day, even if only for brief periods of time. Consistent writing helps maintain momentum and keeps you engaged with your work. Keep a notebook with you so you can jot ideas wherever you are.

 

Several strategies are helpful:

·      Learn what time you do your best writing and avoid scheduling other activities.

·      Put appointments for writing and research in your calendar and protect that time.

·      Set designated times to respond to emails and turn off the notifications so that you are not tempted to look at emails as they arrive.

·      Write in places other than your office on campus. In your office, you can be easily interrupted. A reserved library carrell can be a terrific location.

·      If you must be in your office, learn to write with your door closed.

 

Learn to Write in Short Periods of Time

Many academics believe they can only write when they have several hours of dedicated time. However, this kind of time is scarce in the academic environment. With teaching, advising, reporting, and administrative responsibilities, interruptions are pervasive. Once you are engaged in a writing project, it will be on your mind. Learn to use small time periods to further the project. In 15-20 minutes, you can draft research questions, edit prior writing, or further a conceptual framework.

 

Efficient Writing Strategies

Start with a detailed outline of your paper. This provides a roadmap and helps organize your thoughts, ensuring a logical flow. Focus on getting your ideas down on paper without worrying about perfection. You can edit the work later once the initial draft is complete. Anne Lamott (1995) says that every writer writes awful first drafts (well, she uses another word you can imagine). Accomplished writers then revise as many times as needed. Schedule specific times for revising and editing your work. This allows you to polish your writing and improve clarity and coherence.

 

Leverage Technology

Use software like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to manage citations and references efficiently, saving time and reducing errors. Tools like Google Docs, Overleaf, and Zoom facilitate real-time collaboration with co-authors, making it easier to integrate feedback and contributions.

 

Build Support Networks

Work with colleagues to share the load. Collaborating can bring in new perspectives and distribute the workload more evenly. If available, delegate tasks such as data collection or preliminary literature reviews to research assistants. This frees up your time for writing and critical analysis.

 

Integrate Research, Teaching, and Service

Align your research interests with your teaching. Design courses or assignments that complement your research, allowing you to advance your work while fulfilling teaching responsibilities. You can also seek service responsibilities congruent with your research agenda, although this is more difficult. Synergies among the major components of the academic job will increase your knowledge and make you more efficient.

 

Seek Mentorship

Senior colleagues can share a wealth of practical information. Mentors can advise you about journals or publishers in your discipline, strategies for grant procurement, and teaching resources. They can provide valuable insights, feedback, and guidance to help you navigate challenges and improve your work. Remember that mentorship is a relationship, so choose mentors with whom you are compatible. Mentorship is also an exchange, so be mindful of what you can do for the mentor in return.

 

Practice Self-Care

Clearly define the boundaries between your work and personal life. Protect your personal time and ensure you have regular breaks to recharge. Incorporate activities that promote physical and mental well-being into your routine. Regular exercise, mindfulness practices, and hobbies can help manage stress and improve focus.

 

Take Advantage of Coaching

Individuals trained as professional coaches provide a safe space in which to discuss your career and life choices. A coach you employ will not have a vested interest in decisions you make in the same way that a mentor in the same university might have. Coaching can help you determine the path you want to take in your life and career and actions that will make that happen. In choosing a coach, inquire about their training and determine if they are certified. For the most benefit, choose a coach who has experience in the academic setting. For example, Lilian H. Hill retired from a successful academic career and is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. She offers Coaching for Academics as one of the services of SCOC Consulting.

 

References

Lamott, A. (1995). Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. Anchor Books.

Mason, M. A., Wolfinger, N. H., & Goulden, M. (2013). Do babies matter? Gender and family in the ivory tower. Rutgers University Press.

 Pace, K. L. (2017). The myth of multitasking: Research says it makes us less productive and increases mistakes. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_myth_of_multitasking_research_says_it_makes_us_less_productive_and_incr