Along with honest scientific publications, there are so-called "predators," journals that are characterized by "unethical" publication activities. The phenomenon of predatory journals has become particularly acute in recent years. These journals attract authors with promises of fast publication and low quality requirements, but in reality they damage scientific reputation. In this article, we will look at how to recognize predatory journals and avoid collaborating with them.
What are predatory journals?
Predatory journals are pseudoscientific publications that use paid publications as their main source of income, ignoring standards of scientific ethics and academic honesty. Their goal is to get money from authors without providing meaningful peer review. As a result, such journals do not contribute to the advancement of science and often compromise the authors who publish in them. In the academic community, the ironic name "murzilka" is also used for journals that publish scientific articles without proper peer review or editing.
The main types of predatory publishing
Checklist: how do you know if a journal is predatory?
Many scientists wonder how to check a journal before submitting a paper for publication. We have prepared a checklist to help identify potentially predatory journals.
Signs of predatory journals:
- Unnaturally fast peer review. If a journal promises publication in days or weeks, this is a clear sign of fraud. Quality peer review cannot be accomplished in a short period of time.
- Aggressive publication policy often manifests itself in the form of letters with persistent calls for publication that may arrive in your e-mail. This practice is characteristic of predatory publishing.
- Questionable editorial board. Before submitting an article, it is worth paying attention to the list of editors. Often predatory journals list fictitious names or academics who are not even aware of their involvement. To check if this is the case, visit the editors' profiles on the university website or on specialized social networks such as LinkedIn or ResearchGate.
- Lack of indexing in reputable databases. Check whether the journal is indexed in scientific metric databases such as Scopus, Web of Science or DOAJ. If a publication is missing from these services, it may be a sign of bad faith.
- High and/or hidden publication fees. Predatory journals (or "trash" journals) often require publication fees, and the amount may be hidden until the article is accepted. Quality publications usually specify all payment terms up front.
- Low quality of the site. Pay attention to the design of the site, literacy of texts, and the presence of contact information. The sites of predatory magazines often look unprofessional and poor quality.
- Overly broad coverage of topics. If a journal publishes articles on completely different topics from different areas of science, this may indicate an attempt to attract more authors rather than a desire to contribute to science.
- Lack of complete contact details, placing contact forms or email addresses on widely available domains such as gmail.com or yahoo.com, is also one sign that you are dealing with an unreliable journal (or predator).
Where can I check if a journal is predatory?
A list of predatory journals is available on a well-known resource for researchers — Beall's List. This site collects predatory publications that do not provide quality editorial services.
Also, potentially predatory journals excluded from Scopus can be found in our monthly column. Every month we publish an updated list of scientific journals that have lost their indexing in the Scopus database. You can read the latest list in this article.
To avoid getting published in predatory journals, turn to the professionals at Science Consulting. Scientific Publications has been helping scientists for over 8 years to publish scientific articles in highly rated journals included in the prestigious scientific metric databases — Scopus and Web of Science. To learn more about our services, leave your contact details in the form below and our manager will contact you for a detailed consultation.
