The concept of a "predatory" journal has appeared in the scientific sphere relatively recently. Along with journals with an impeccable reputation, there have emerged publications that imitate high-quality scientific publishing activities - predatory journals, fey journals, and clone journals. The company "Scientific Publications" has prepared recommendations that will help you not to make a mistake with the choice of a journal to place your research.
The main types of "predatory" publications?
The presence of "predatory" publications in the scientific space is detrimental to scientific publishing and the quality of research activities. The main goal of such publications is to gain financial gain without providing quality peer review and editorial services. Fraudsters take advantage of authors' desire to publish scientific articles in a short time without strict requirements and complex processes. But the quality and scientific value of such publications is low. In addition, there is a category of publications that charge for publication, but never place the materials.
The main types of unscrupulous publications include:
- Predatory journal is a type of fraud that involves unethical actions on the part of a publication that puts financial gain above scientific goals. Such journals may have been indexed in global databases or are still peer-reviewed in them, pending peer review of their publication activities. The standard scheme of such journals is as follows: authors are charged for quick publication without following the promised arrangements on the part of the editorial board. The article will either not be published, or the publication will be of poor quality (without review and verification by editors).
- A clone journal is a periodical that imitates the scientific publishing activities of another well-known journal (often copying the website, name, logo and other attributes of a publication with a good reputation). Very often the "clone" is extremely difficult to distinguish from the original publication, as fraudsters copy all the journal's data: ISSN, EISSN, editorial policy, submission procedure and other aspects. The fraudulent scheme involves charging for publication services under the guise of a real publication, but the article will never be published.
- Fake journal is a publication that claims to be scientific, but in fact it is not. The main features of such a journal are: lack of indexing in scientometric databases, contact information, a section on the process of review and verification by the editorial board. The fraudulent scheme of such "scientific journals" is very simple - financial gain without publication of submitted materials.
How to recognize "predatory magazines"?
The main signs by which you can identify unscrupulous publications:
- The journal offers to place the research on the rights of the "respected author". Ranking journals are always overloaded with materials, and also have a limited number of places for articles in issues, so to place a paper in such publications is a complicated and lengthy process.
- The URL looks suspicious. Fraudsters can forge a link so that it will be difficult to distinguish it from the original one by changing one letter or sign.
- The journal lacks contact information, data on the editorial board, and the review process. Reputable journals necessarily add sections on the website about the procedures of evaluation and review of articles, as well as all necessary contact information for communication.
- Lack of information about exact publication deadlines and specific requirements to the posted materials. The absence of a precise time period or too attractive publication deadlines should alert the researcher.
- The publication is not indexed in the global databases Scopus and Web of Science, but indicates this information on the website. It is very easy to check whether a journal is peer-reviewed by international platforms - just enter the publication data (title, ISSN, EISSN, DOI, etc.) in the search engines Scopus or Web of Science. If the journal is indeed indexed, it will appear in the database.
- publication on prepayment also should alert the scientist. Ranking editions ask to pay for publication services only after the article has been approved by reviewers and editors.
- low-quality content of the journal traceable in previous issues. The main signs of poor quality of published material: the presence of grammatical and stylistic errors, inconsistency of published research with the stated subject matter, illogical structure of the article.
What are the consequences of publishing in a predatory journal?
Trying to place an article in a predatory journal can cause a lot of harm to a scientist. In the best case, the article will not be published, in the worst case - indexing of the work will be stopped in scientometric databases. If you try to republish in another journal, the article will be considered plagiarism.
Publishing for the sake of publishing, unfortunately, will not work. We recommend to beware of dubious publications to avoid becoming a victim of fraudsters.
The company “Scientific Publications” has been providing scientific consulting services to scientists all over the world for more than 8 years. Our experts will help you to choose a rating journal with an excellent reputation, suitable for your scientific purpose. Ordering the service "Publication in Scopus" or "Publication in Web of Science" you are guaranteed to get your article indexed in the international database. We conduct quality audit of scientific materials, make academic translation and guarantee compliance with the deadlines fixed in the legal contract. Leave a request in the form below and our manager will contact you within a day.
