scholarly journals Behind the Spam: A “Spectral Analysis” of Predatory Publishers

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29A) ◽  
pp. 166-171
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Beall

AbstractMost researchers today are bombarded with spam email solicitations from questionable scholarly publishers. These emails solicit article manuscripts, editorial board service, and even ad hoc peer reviews. These “predatory” publishers exploit the scholarly publishing process, patterning themselves after legitimate scholarly publishers yet performing little or no peer review and quickly accepting submitted manuscripts and collecting fees from submitting authors. These counterfeit publishers and journals have published much junk science? especially in the field of cosmology? threatening the integrity of the academic record. This paper examines the current state of predatory publishing and advises researchers how to navigate scholarly publishing to best avoid predatory publishers and other scholarly publishing-related perils.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy L. Larose ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Dallaire ◽  
Theresa Erskine ◽  
Chiara Pozzuoli ◽  
Emanuele Mattiello

<p>This paper introduces the methodology RWDI has developed, tested and consolidated over the years working in close collaboration with bridge designers, owners and operators, for the multi-hazard assessment of existing bridges and the ad hoc development of a structural health monitoring programme leading to enhanced resiliency. The work is highlighted through the presentation of a case study for a 2,725 m long cantilever bridge built in 1930. The dynamics of the structure in its current state were characterised and its capacity to today and future wind loading was assessed fully following the proposed methodology prior to the initiation of a structural rehabilitation program to extend the design life of the bridge beyond its 150th anniversary.</p>


Author(s):  
Mike Downes

Introduction. OMICS is the largest and most successful predatory publisher, with numerous subsidiaries. In 2019 it was convicted of unethical publishing practices. Method. A numerical tally of OMICS's editorial listings was compiled across 131 nations. Names and affiliations were recorded for seven nations. A sample was surveyed to estimate the proportions of those aware and unaware of their listing, and of OMICS’s conviction. Analysis. Excel enabled compilation, absolute and proportional tallies and random selection. Results. OMICS has twenty subsidiaries and 26,772 editor (and editorial board) listings, 11,361 from just seven nations. Proportional to population, Greeks were most frequently represented on OMICS's editorial boards, followed by Americans, Singaporeans and Italians. In absolute terms, Americans were the most numerous. The survey found that more than half of the respondents were either unaware of their listing or were unwilling to be listed, and 26% were unaware of OMICS’s conviction. Conclusion. OMICS's editorial boards do not function as they do for respectable publishers, hence the information published in OMICS journals is unreliable. Academic alliances with OMICS are potentially damaging to academic careers and institutional reputations. Universities should develop policies dealing with predatory publishers in general and OMICS in particular.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Álvarez-García ◽  
Amador Durán-Sánchez ◽  
María de la Cruz del Río-Rama

Purpose Since Masaaki Imai coined the term Kaizen in the mid-1980s, it has been seen as a key element for the competitiveness of Japanese companies, and it is currently a widely discussed philosophy and is applied in a wide range of organizations throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to serve as guidance for researchers who are developing their studies in the field of the Kaizen philosophy, in order to improve their knowledge on the most relevant articles, the most productive authors or the key scientific journals that make up this subject. Design/methodology/approach In order to fulfill the proposed objective, a descriptive bibliometric study was carried out with the analysis of citations from 138 articles included in the multidisciplinary database Scopus (Elsevier) until 2016. For the search of documents, a tracking strategy was chosen that allowed for the development of the ad hoc database required to analyze each of the basic variables of the bibliometric indicators. Findings The results obtained show a growing interest of the scientific community in its study in the last decade, as shown by the significant increase in citations received by articles, despite the reduction in the number of papers published in the last two years. Research limitations/implications The main limitations are derived from the choice of a specific database, as well as the specific search equation. Originality/value The study presents an in-depth analysis of the current state of research regarding the Kaizen philosophy through its bibliometric study, providing useful information for academics and professionals by providing a series of significant indicators to measure the bibliographic material.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Kipkemoi Bett

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how predatory journals use spam emails to manipulate potential authors. This has been done based on McCornack’s information manipulation theory (IMT). Generally, predatory publishing is on the increase globally but more pronounced in developing countries. Although it affects both young and seasoned scholars, inexperienced scholars and those ignorant on credible publishing are the most affected. Design/methodology/approach The current study through document analysis focuses on email invites from predatory journals sent to the author between June 2016 and December 2018 after publishing a peer-reviewed journal article. The resultant texts were analysed using a directed qualitative content analysis. Findings Findings indicate that the invites flouted all the four Gricean maxims (of quality, quantity, manner and relevance) as posited by IMT. This suggests that the spam mails sent to the author sought to manipulate potential authors to publish with predatory journals. Research limitations/implications This qualitative study focuses on email invites to the author which may not fully capture the manipulation by predatory journals. Practical implications It is important that scholars in developing contexts are aware of how predatory publishers seek to manipulate their victims. Universities and research institutions should be intentional in enlightening their academic staff on predatory journals and their characteristics. Similarly, universities should consider disincentivising their faculty members who publish in such platforms. Originality/value The originality in this study lies in its use of IMT to explain how predatory journals manipulate potentials authors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genae Strong

Peer-review publishing has long been the gold standard for disseminating research. The peer-review process holds researchers accountable for their work and conveys confidence that the article is of value to the reader. Predatory journals and publishing pose a global threat to the quality of scientific literature, accuracy of educational resources, and safety of patient care. Predatory publishing uses an exploitative business model, substandard quality control measures, and deceptive publishing practices. Given the proliferation of these journals and the extreme measures utilized to disguise substandard publishing practices, avoiding them can prove difficult. Understanding the nature of predatory publishing and how to recognize the warning signs provide helpful measures to authors, researchers, students, and readers. Additional resources known to help avoid predatory publishers have been discussed in addition to reviewing the Journal of Human Lactation guidelines for publishing.


Author(s):  
Alasia Datonye Dennis

The open access movement and its initiatives -- which advocate a shift from predominant print-based publication to electronic and Internet sources -- is expected to improve the global distribution of scholarly research and impact positively on the current state of scholarly publications in the developing world. This review examines the current state of medical journals in Nigeria and assesses the impact of the open access movement and its initiatives on medical scholarly publishing in Nigeria. The resulting appraisal shows that open access initiatives have impacted positively on medical scholarly publishing in Nigeria, with the African Journals Online and the African Index Medicus projects being the most significant influences. There are enormous prospects for further developing medical scholarly publishing in Nigeria using open access initiatives; these opportunities should be exploited and developed.


1994 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 559
Author(s):  
James W. Wilson ◽  
Catherine A. Brown ◽  
Carolyn Kieran ◽  
Frank K. Lester

This special issue of the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education was prepared to help celebrate the 25th anniversary year of the journal. President Mary Lindquist appointed an ad hoc task force to develop activities to mark this 25th year. Input was solicited from former editorial board members and editors and from others throughout mathematics education. We came to a recognition that doing something to reflect on the journal's journey over the past 25 years, while underscoring the scholarship that guides our work, would be a vehicle to help look ahead to the next 25 years.


2008 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
_ _

Relationships between industry and neurosurgeons engaged in both clinical practice and research have become increasingly complicated due to increased utilization of expensive devices in day-to-day neurosurgical practice. The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group (JNSPG) has always had a policy of demanding open disclosure of any real, potential, or even perceived conflict of interest by authors submitting scientific manuscripts. Recently, the editor-in-chief and members of the editorial boards, after much discussion of this issue, decided that this policy of open disclosure should be enhanced and more specifically defined. In addition, we felt that such a policy should be extended to all reviewers of articles submitted for publication to JNSPG journals—both members of the editorial boards and ad hoc reviewers. To clarify, extend, and specify the JNSPG's policy in this respect, the editor and editorial boards developed a task force on “Conflict of Interest.” The task force, after considerable discussion with the full editorial boards, developed the following Conflict of Interest policy as well as the forms that submitting authors, editorial board members, and other reviewers are now required to complete.


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