Taylor and Francis is providing access to this Iconic Research Note free of charge through December 2019.

The purpose of this research note is to define and review the extent of “predatory1” publishing process practices in academic journals in recent years. In addition, ascertaining what, if any, substantive damage can result from these practices. And to derive “warnings signs” for those embarking on the road to creating/distributing what they have learned.

“Predatory publishing” is the charging of a fee or proving value in exchange for the publication of research material without providing the publication services an author would have reasonably expected such as peer review and editing to mention only a few. There is evidence that this “practice” has sadly grown in prevalence in recent years.

Following a review of the literature and using case study methodology, it was found that damages in the case of one large publisher were estimated to be over $50 m, as per a court adjudication in the US.

With open access publishing becoming more popular as a result of institutional, funder and national mandates, it is likely more authors could be tempted or even baited into making poor decisions and publishing their research articles in illegitimate journals, wasting funding resources and damaging their research reputations. These and other implications are considered, as well as enumeration of such behaviors with an eye toward fostering deterrence. Further research and actions that could mitigate the problems are outlined.

It is a keeper that you and your colleagues might want to share with their Department or even School.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1051712X.2019.1603423

 

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