Predatory publishing
Introduction
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When building a publishing track record, it is important to avoid publishing in journals or through book publishers who engage in unethical practices, such as falsely claiming that your work will be peer reviewed, or displaying fictitious impact factors. This type of publication will not be regarded as reputable by your colleagues and is unlikely to be easily accessible or cited. The primary motivation of predatory publishers is profit from the fee you pay for publication. However it should be noted that being asked to pay for Open Access (via an APC) to an accepted article is different to being asked to pay to publish. Many high quality non-predatory journals charge for Open Access publishing. |
Read more about predatory publishing:
- Think. Check. Submit. About predatory publishingRead more about how predatory publishing is defined, known synonyms, and things to watch out for.
- Hijacked journals: what they are and how to avoid them'In this blog Dr. Varun G Menon, Associate Professor at SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, India, alerts researchers to the threat posed by hijacked journals to their career and to the scholarly community, and provides tips for spotting and avoiding them.'
- Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly PublishingCollaboratively produced by the Committee on Publication Ethics, the Directory of Open Access Journals, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association and the World Association of Medical Editors.
Major new report
Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and ConferencesProduced by the InterAcademy Partnership, a 'global network of over 140 science, engineering and medical academies', this report is the result of:
The report includes a revised definition of predatory journals and conferences emphasising a nuanced approach based on a spectrum of 'predatory behaviours'. Researchers can use the lists of indicators and behaviours to help make decisions about where a particular journal or conference sits on the spectrum which ranges from Fraudulent (High Risk) through Deceptive, Unacceptable low-quality, Low quality, Promising low-quality and Questionable quality to Quality (Low Risk). |
- Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences
Access the InterAcademy Partnership project site including the report, launch recording and project background.
Tools to help you avoid predatory publishers
- Think. Check. Submit. JournalsWork though this checklist to learn what you need to consider when assessing the right place for your journal article.
- Think. Check. Submit. Books and chaptersLook at this checklist to assess what to consider when planning to publish a book or book chapter.
- Think. Check. AttendRefer to this checklist to choose the right conference to attend and present your research.
This infographic explores some of the key characteristics of predatory and legitimate publication websites. Click below for a version with selectable text:
- Phony vs Legit - Predatory PublishingSource: Evaluating Scholarly Journals from FrontMatter by Allen Press, CC BY ND NC 3.0.