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What are predatory journals?
What are predatory journals?
"Predatory journal" is a term used to describe journals which are created for the sole purpose of extracting money from authors, without providing the services (expert editorial board, high-quality peer review, etc.) which authors expect from reputable journals.
Why are predatory journals widespread now?
Among other factors:
- The rise of electronic journals on the World Wide Web. Publishing a print journal required a considerabe initial investment before the first issue could come out. Electonic journals, on the other hand, can be slapped togehter in slipshod fashion and put out on the web with little initial investment.
- he coming of "god" open access journals, in chich authors are expected to pay an author publishing charge (APC) as a way to support journals in place of subsription fees charged to readres and librries. Legitimate scholarly publihsers have made widespread use of this economic model. However, it has worked to the advantage of predatory publishers. While it would take a long time to build up a subscption base to profit from a subscription model journal, a publisher can begin immediately gathering APCs from would-be authors.
- The explosive growth of worldwide scholarhip. The number of authors seeking to be published has grown tremendously.Authors desperate to be published to earn tenure and promotion, may turn to predatory publihers if they find the can't get accepted in the "presige" journals in their field.
Why should I, as an author, avoid predatory publishers?
- Publhing your work in predatory journals can be deamaging to your reputation. Your work may appear alongside poor quality, plagiarized, or even completely phony articles, dragging your work down by assocatation.
- Predatory publishers are often "here today, gone tomorrow." Once a publisher is exposed as predatory, its operators may close up shop, only to start a new publishing operation under a new name. But the article they published may not be archived, which could mean that the record of your work could vanish completely.
- Every author who supports a predatory publisher just encourages the growth of more and more predatory publishing. Be a part of the solution, not of the problem!
Tools to identify and avoid predatory publishers
The first three tools elow are good ways to identify quality journlas. DOAJ has strict criteria for which journals they will list, and will not list predatory journals. Journal Citation Reports is the most widely-used source for "impact factors" and list primarily journals with established track records. Thier new Emerging Journals list help identify promising newer titles. Preatory publishers will often cite phony imact factors to make their journals look more prestigious than thay really are. Ulrich's is the standard directory of scholarly journals and provides reliable information about journals and their publishers.
- DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals This link opens in a new window
Database of open access journals covering all scientific and scholarly subjects. Use to identify open access journal titles. Journals can be browsed by title or by broad subject area. Articles are searchable by article author or title, ISSN, journal title, abstract, or key words. Full-text is not searchable but is fully accessible.
- Journal Citation Reports This link opens in a new window
Provides analysis of the article publication and citation patterns of major journals in the sciences and social sciences. Information available for each journal includes the total number of article published, total citations to articles from the journal, Impact Factor (ratio of number of citations to number of articles), Immediacy Index, Journal Half-Life, Impact Factor Trends and more. These indices are widely used in comparing and evaluating scholarly journal quality.
- Ulrich's Periodicals Directory This link opens in a new windowUlrich's Periodicals Directory is a bibliographic database providing detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on serials published throughout the world. It covers all subjects, and includes publications that are published regularly or irregularly and are circulated free of charge or by paid subscription.Updated weekly, the database is searchable and browsable by title, subject, language, electronic availability and more. There is also a news section, and links to libraries and interest groups.
The links below point to resources which proice list of predatory journal, or informatin which can help you to identify and avoid predatory journals.
- UCSB Library: Open Access Publishing Support: Avoiding Predatory OA PublishersTips on avoiading prdatory publishers from the Library's OA Collection Strategist.
- Babells Predatory Reports CriteriaCabells.com is a commerical organization providing journal alalytics and reports on predatory journlas. While their services are subscriptio-based, this page lists their criteria for evaluating journals, and distinguishes SEVERE, MODERATE and MINOR predatory practices.
- COPE: Committee on Publication EthicsCOPE is an organization of publishers devoted to upholding eithic publishing practices. Chck ot their Guidance section to see guidelines for ethical editorial boards, peer review, etc.
- Beall's List of Potential Predatory Journal and PublishersBeall's List includes lengthy list of publishers and stand-alone journals suspected of predatory practices. Note that this list is not without controversy. Use it as a tool, not an absolute authority on the subject.
- Beall's List CriteriaCriteria used by Beall's List to identify potential predatory journals.
- Think. Check. Submit.Think Check. Submit. is a non-profit organization offering tools and checklists to help authors identigy reputable publishers.