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Watch out for predatory journals!

13. November 2018 | HBZ | Keine Kommentare |

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Until today, there is no clear definition of «predatory journals». Librarian Jeffrey Beal coined the term «predatory publishing» in 2010. He was also the one who published the well-known but controversial blacklist of Predatory journals and publishers and later took it offline. Besides the term «predatory» also terms like Deceptive journals, Sham journals, Dubious journals, Journals operating in bad faith, Fake journals, Low credibility journals and some other terms are used in this context.

In recent years, the number of journals with a lack of quality assurance has increased. However, the phenomenon itself is not new. In their study, Shen and Björk (2015) assumed that the publication volume would have increased from 53´000 articles in 2010 to about 420´000 articles by 2014. In addition, the number of publishers has drastically increased with 10-99 journals, whereas previously publishers with more than 100 journals dominated the market.

 

Do predatory publishers have anything to do with Open Access?

Predatory publishers base their business models on the publication fee-based model, as some Open Access publishers also use. However, reliable Open Access publishers only charge this publication fee after an article has been accepted and checked for quality. A study by Morrison H (2018) even discovered that about 70% of the journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) do not charge publication fees at all.

 

How can predatory publishers/practices be identified? (excerpt, list incomplete)

  • Aggressive personalized spam email invitations
  • Promise of a quick peer review
  • False Impact Metrics
  • False or inappropriate claims about indexing and database entries
  • No transparency of costs
  • Lack of publication services (e.g. no peer review)
  • Listing of fake scientists as members of the editorial team
  • Admission of “real” scientists as editorial members without their knowledge/consent
  • Copying the web design of established journals
  • Missing, stolen or faked standards or identifiers (such as DOI or ISSNs)
  • Contact e-mails may end with @gmail.com or @yahoo.com

 

What can scientists do to not fall prey into a predatory publisher?

The initiative Think, Check, Submit helps researchers to identify trustworthy journals based on a checklist. If you can answer some of the questions below with yes, then submit your paper to the journal of your choice. (Video Think, Check, Submit)

 

Ask yourself questions like (excerpt from website Think, Check, Submit)

  • Do you or your colleagues know the journal?
  • Can you easily identify and contact the publisher?
  • Is the journal clear about the type of peer review it uses?
  • Are articles indexed in services that you use?
  • Is it clear what fees will be charged?
  • Do you recognise the editorial board?
  • Is the publisher a member of a recognized industry initiative?
    • Do they belong to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)?
    • If the journal is open access, is it listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)?
    • If the journal is open access, does the publisher belong to the Open Access Scholarly Publishers’ Association (OASPA)?
    • s the journal hosted on one of INASP’s Journals Online platforms (for journals published in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Central America and Mongolia) or on African Journals Online (AJOL, for African journals)?
    • Is the publisher a member of another professional association?

Beyond this checklist, the website «retraction watch» is a good source of information on “bad science” and other manifestations of ethically questionable science.

Please see also the information on predatory publishing and the letter from the Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Michael Schaepmann to UZH researchers.

In case of insecurity, please contact the Open Access team at the main library.

 

Abgelegt unter: Coffee LecturesOpen AccessTips for Physicians & Health ProfessionsTips for Researchers
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