predatory publications: what they are and how to avoid them · - makes false claims regarding...
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Predatory Publications: What they are and how to avoid them Research Office, Telfer School of Management
2018
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Predatory journals and predatory conferences: What you should know
Predatoryjournalsandconferencesrepresentathreattotheintegrityofscholarlyworkastheirnumbersgrowexponentially.Publishinginpredatoryjournalsandpresentingatpredatoryconferencesisharmfultothereputationofresearchersandtheirinstitutions,anditmayhaveanegativeimpactontheirabilitytoattractresearchfunding.
Thepurposeofthisguideistohelpidentifypredatoryconferencesandpredatoryjournalsandtoprovidealistofavailableresourcesformakinginformedchoices.Consideringthatmethodsandtacticsofsolicitingsubmissionstopredatoryjournalsandconferenceschangeconstantlyandrapidly,thisdocumentservesasageneralguideandnotasanauthoritativetoolfordecisionmaking.Pleasedoyourhomeworkbeforesubmittingresearchresults.
Definitions
Apredatoryjournalisajournalthatpromotesitselfasalegitimateopen-accessjournalwithveryquickturnaroundtimeandusuallylowpublicationfees.Itpromisesafast“review”process,andahighacceptancerate–bothachievedthroughquestionablepeer-reviewpractices.Apredatoryjournalalsomasqueradesaslegitimatebyhavingaquestionableeditorialboardandbyproviding“impact”measuresthatarenotrecognizedby,forexample,Scopus,WebofScienceorScimago.
Apredatoryconferenceisaneventsetuptoresemblealegitimatescientificconference,offeringsomeformofrefereedconferenceproceedings.Itmayofferpublicationofpapersinaffiliated(predatory)journalsbutnotalways.Apredatoryconferenceisoftenpartofalargemulti-conferenceeventfeaturingquestionablekeynoteandinvitedspeakersthatmaynotbetopresearchersintheirfields.Theeventismarketedprimarilyforvenuelocation.
Abovebroaddefinitionswerecreatedusingthefollowingsources:
PredatorypublishingandconferencescriteriafromtheBeall’slist:http://beallslist.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/9/5/30958339/criteria-2015.pdf
D.Moheretal.,“Stopthiswasteofpeople,animalsandmoney,”Nature2017;549(7670):23-25.
D.MoherandE.Moher,“Stoppredatorypublishersnow:Actcollaboratively,”AnnalsofInternalMedicine2016;164(9):616-617.
D.MoherandA.Srivastave,“Youareinvitedtosubmit…,”BMCMedicine2015;13:180.
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Main Features
Thefeatureslistedbelowarenotexhaustiveandshouldserveasafirstchecklisttobeusedwhenconsideringaconferencetoattendorajournaltowhichtosubmitscholarlywork.
Itisimportanttonote,however,thatpredatoryoutletsarebecomingincreasinglybetterathidingordownplayingtheirpredatorystatus.Whensubmittingworktoalesser-knownoutlet,itisadvisabletoconsultthelibrarianattheTelferSchoolofManagementortheUniversityofOttawaandtheResearchOfficeattheTelferSchoolofManagement.
Predatoryjournal
- Solicitssubmissionsviae-mailcampaigns- Addressese-mailcorrespondencepersonallytoaresearcherand/ormentionsrecipient’spast
researchinthebodyofthee-mail- OftenproudlymentionsthatthejournalisindexedbyCabelldirectory,LibraryofCongress,etc.- Doesnothavetransparenteditorialandpeer-reviewprocess- Hasnonprofessionalwebportalandsubmissionguidelines- Offersveryquickturnaroundtimeinacceptingsubmissions- Listseditorialboardofmade-upmembers- Providescontactinformationthatisinsufficientorverydifficulttoverify- Makesfalseclaimsregardingimpactfactororprovidesfakebibliometrics- IsnotindexedonScopus,WebofScienceandsimilarbibliographicdatabases- Requireslump-sumorperpagepublicationfees(nottobeconfusedwithtotallylegitimatenon-
refundablesubmissionfees)afterthepaperisacceptedwithoutanoptionofafreepublicationinnon-open-accessformat.
Predatoryconference
- Solicitssubmissionsviaaggressivee-mailcampaign- Addressese-mailcorrespondencepersonallytoaresearcherand/ormentionsrecipient’spast
researchinthebodyofthee-mail- Invitesresearchertobeaninvitedspeaker,distinguishedspeaker,etc.- Makesacceptancedecisionveryfastand/orhasarollingacceptancedecisionpolicy- Oftenrunasamulti-conferenceeventwithdiversifiedrangeoftopics- Hasascientificcommitteecomposedofeitherfakemembersorpeoplecompletelyunknownin
theconference’sacademicdomain- Ispromotedasatouristattractionmorethananacademicevent.
Resources Thereareanumberofdifferentresourcesthatshouldhelpidentifypredatoryjournalsorconferences.Someofthemarelistedbelow.
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TheCentreforJournalologyattheOttawaHospitalResearchInstitutehasanonlineguidetohelpindecidingwheretosubmitapaper.Thisguideisfocusedonmedical/clinical/healthservicespublicationsbutincludesveryusefulinformationforotherdomains:http://www.ohri.ca/journalology/submission.aspx
TheSCImagoJournal&CountryRankisapubliclyavailableportalthatliststhejournalsandcountryscientificindicatorsdevelopedfromtheinformationcontainedintheScopus®database.ThisportalismaintainedbyaresearchgroupfromtheConsejoSuperiordeInvestigacionesCientíficas,UniversityofGranada,Extremadura,CarlosIII(Madrid)andAlcaládeHenares.http://www.scimagojr.com
WebofScienceisadatabaseproducedbyClarivateAnalyticsthatlistsacademicjournalsandcalculatestheirimpactfactor.ItcanbeaccessedforfreethroughtheLibraryoftheUniversityofOttawa.https://apps.webofknowledge.com/WOS_GeneralSearch_input.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&SID=8Dz2onCIkXqR8lywLtB&preferencesSaved
TheLibraryattheUniversityofOttawamaintainsawebsitetohelpresearchersbeawareofpredatorypublishers.TheScholarlyCommunicationLibrariancontactinformationisshownatthebottomofthewebpage.https://scholarlycommunication.uottawa.ca/publishing/predatory-publishers
Think,Check,Submitisaportalfoundedbyanumberoforganizationstohelpresearchersidentifylegitimatejournalsforpublicationofresearchresults.http://thinkchecksubmit.org
TherearealsoanumberofYouTubevideos:
WhatisPredatoryPublishing?
HowtodetermineifaJournalisaPredatoryPublisher
IdentifyingPredatoryPublishers
Telfer School of Management Policy
TheTelferSchoolResearchGrantsprogramisintendedtoprovidefundingtofull-timefacultymembersandgraduatestudentsforconductingresearchandpresenting/publishingresultsatlegitimateandrecognizedscholarlyconferencesorinrecognizedacademicjournals.Therefore,fundscannotbeusedtopayforpublishinginapredatoryjournalortocovercostsofattendingapredatoryconference.TheResearchOfficeisheretohelpwithanyquestionsregardingpredatoryconferencesandquestionablepublishingpractices.
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Appendix
Someexamplesofemailsolicitationsfrompredatoryjournalsorpredatoryconferencesaregivenbelow
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