Last month, we invited researchers to let us know which areas of research integrity they would like to see new resources developed in – if you missed it, there is still time to read the post and fill in the survey! As we digest your answers, we wanted to draw your attention to a course that is available to all researchers right now and provides guidance on how to avoid a particularly nasty threat to publishing your manuscript with integrity – the issue of predatory publishers.
Since November of last year, when we first released this resource, the issue of predatory publishers remains a threat to researchers looking for homes for their work. Although they are known to primarily target early career researchers, predatory journals can also impact experienced researchers by, for example, adding a well-known researcher’s name to their Editorial Board without consent. It is important for both established academics and those at the start of their academic journey to be able to spot predatory practices and know how to respond to them if encountered.
Try your hand at the riddle below:
You receive an email from a journal expressing interest in publishing your work. You have never heard of the journal before and so you go to the website provided in the email to learn more. Below is a list of things you see on that page - which of the following are cause for concern?
A: The website lists its Editorial Board Members, including some very well-established names in the field, a couple of which you know to be deceased
B: The website prominently displays offers of editorial services such as peer review
C: There are discrepancies in the text – for example, while the website is for a ‘journal’, it is referenced as a Book Series in various parts of the text, with no explanation
D: The website generally looks unprofessional
E: In the Indexing section, the only indexing service listed is Google Scholar
F: Under a tab named ‘New titles’, the articles linked to are already a few years old, and they seem to be out of scope for the journal’s purported area of interest
Image credit: © fizkes / stock.adobe.com
The correct answers are A, C, E and F!
The following elements of this page would warrant careful consideration:
- Prominent and/or deceased Editorial Board Members: Predatory publishers often list well-known academics - sometimes even deceased ones - on their editorial boards without permission to create a false sense of legitimacy. If you recognize names that seem out of place, this is a flag to investigate further.
- Text discrepancies: Inconsistent terminology (e.g., calling the publication a journal in one place and a book series in another) suggests a lack of editorial oversight and professionalism. Legitimate journals maintain consistency in how they present themselves, and as such this is something to look out for.
- Indexing services: Google Scholar is a low-threshold (inclusive) indexing service, and predatory journals often do not have the academic credibility to be listed on selective indexing services such as Scopus or Web of Science. Spotting use of low-threshold indexing services to feign credibility is therefore a sign to proceed with caution.
- Outdated and out-of-scope titles: If the journal prominently features both outdated and irrelevant articles, this denotes a lack of rigorous editorial services which is a hallmark of predatory publishing. We would recommend checking the articles carefully to assess their quality and considering if this is the right home for your work.
As for the ‘wrong’ answers, it is not inherently problematic to offer editorial services such as peer review – these are standard practices every publisher should offer! However, if these offerings are paired with promises of extremely fast turn-around-times, guaranteed publication, or anything else that sounds too good to be true, these signals indicate that the journal may be engaging in illegitimate practices.
Similarly, unprofessional website design is not definitive proof of predatory behaviour. Some journals do not have the resources for professional website design, especially when they are just starting out. However, a combination of factors such as unprofessional design paired with an obvious lack of editorial oversight, or text discrepancies such as those described above, may call for careful investigation.
There are a host of other issues that can be present on the webpages of predatory journals, such as the absence of clear information regarding author processing charges, unclear ownership or contact information, and more. Take our short, 30-minute course on Predatory Publishers to gain all the skills you need to identify problematic journals and conferences!