A curse to science

A curse to science

Context

Observations made regarding predatory journals in noted a 2015 paper published in BMC Medicine

Observations

• Alarming increase: In the last decade, predatory journals, which publish papers for a fee with little or no peer review, have become a curse to science. Despite the unethical business practices adopted by publishers of such journals, the number of researchers who publish in them has been increasing at an alarming rate. From about 53,000 in 2010, the number of papers published in these journals increased to 420,000 in 2014
• India is an epicenter of predatory journals publishing: Around 35% of authors in such journals were from India, and 27% of predatory journal publishers were also based here, thus making India the number one country in both categories

Who coined the term ‘predatory journals’?

Jeffrey Beall, a librarian at the University of Colorado in Denver, first coined the term “predatory journals” and maintained a listing of predatory journals which was later taken down

What is a predatory journal?

A predatory journal is a publication that actively asks researchers for manuscripts. They have no peer review system and no true editorial board and are often found to publish mediocre or even worthless papers. They also ask for huge publication charges.

Why do academics publish in such journals?

In research environments, there is usually more value for quantity over quality. Hiring and promotion of academics is based largely on their number of publications. Predatory journals has helped many pseudo-researchers to prosper.

What is the harm caused by predatory journals?

Predatory and low-quality journals corrupt the literature. Medical science has been particularly hit hard, with journals now devoted to unscientific medicine

• “Peer review is at the heart of academic evaluation. Publishing without peer review [while pretending that peer review was done] gives poor and mediocre academics a chance for jobs and promotions which should go to better qualified researchers,” says Prof. Sunil Mukhi, J.C. Bose Fellow and Chair, Physics Programme, IISER Pune

How does one find out if a given journal is predatory or not?

“It requires a bit of work. If one is lazy about this, it is easy to come to the wrong conclusion. For example, some people think any journal from an unknown publisher, or a journal that charges for publication, is necessarily predatory. That is not necessarily correct. The important thing is to dig deeper and find ….the quality of submitted manuscripts….and its standards,” he adds

Here is a curated list of Beall’s criteria for identification of predatory journals and publishers

• No single individual is identified as specific journal’s editor with no formal editorial/review board or the same editorial board for more than one journal.
• The editor and/or review board members do not have academic expertise in the journal’s field
• Provides insufficient information or hides information about author fees, offering to publish an author’s paper and later sending an unanticipated ‘surprise’ invoice.
• No proper indexing
• The name of a journal is unrelated with the journal’s mission
• The name of a journal does not adequately reflect its origin (e.g. a journal with the word ‘Canadian’ or ‘Swiss’ in its name when neither the publisher, editor, nor any purported institutional affiliate relates whatsoever to Canada or Switzerland)
• The publisher has poorly maintained websites, including dead links, prominent misspellings and grammatical errors on the website
• The publisher makes unauthorised use of licensed images on their website, taken from the open web, without permission or licensing from the copyright owners
• Re-publish papers already published in other venues/outlets without providing appropriate credits
• Use boastful language claiming to be a ‘leading publisher’ even though the publisher may only be a start-up or a novice organisation
• Provide minimal or no copyediting or proofreading of submissions
• Publish papers that are not academic at all, e.g. essays by lay people, polemical editorials, or pseudo-science
• Have a ‘contact us’ page that only includes a web form or an email address, and the publisher hides or does not reveal its location
• The publisher publishes journals that are excessively broad (e.g. Journal of Education) or combine two or more fields not normally treated together (e.g. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology) in order to attract more articles and gain more revenue from author fees

Whose responsibility is this?

From initially being duped into publishing papers in these journals, researchers in India, particularly those from State universities, are now actively seeking out such journals. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is singularly responsible for this

Reasons

• Non-existent research infrastructure in most colleges and State universities
• API system: The Academic Performance Indicators (API) system introduced by the UGC has mandated that every PhD scholar publish at least two papers prior to thesis submission. A similar condition exists for teachers in colleges and universities at the time of recruitment and assessment for promotion
  • Impact: This policy of the UGC has unwittingly led to a sudden and huge demand for journals that willingly publish substandard papers for a small fee
• Defective White list: Bowing to pressure, in January 2017 the UGC introduced a white list of journals where researchers could publish to meet the API conditions. If the introduction of the API was done without any application of mind, the white list prepared without the scientific community’s involvement has led to the inclusion of at least 200 predatory journals. Worse, universities may suggest new journal titles for inclusion in the list, and the criteria for inclusion are not only vague but loose
  • Impact: Owing to the UGC’s incompetence, at least 200 predatory journals have been legitimised

Conclusion

It’s time it abandons the list altogether and follows standard white lists prepared by competent organisations, which, even if not perfect, are far better than this one