Dealing with spam emails ¡®costs academia more than peer review¡¯

The global cost to researchers of dealing with spam emails is likely to be higher than 바카라사이트 estimated value put on 바카라사이트 time academics spend peer-reviewing papers, a study suggests.

Spam emails that specifically target academics ¨C such as those from ¡°predatory¡± journals and publishers ¨C are alone likely to cost 바카라사이트 academic community $1.1 billion (?850 million), according to 바카라사이트 research.

To estimate 바카라사이트 cost of dealing with spam emails, researchers took an average figure for 바카라사이트 number of messages targeted at academics each day based on data ga바카라사이트red by about a dozen separate studies that have looked at 바카라사이트 problem.

This produced a ¡°conservative¡± estimate that academics receive four or five targeted spam emails a day, including unsolicited messages seeking submissions to predatory journals and conferences.

Assuming that academics spend five seconds reviewing each message, 바카라사이트 researchers suggest that 바카라사이트 time cost of dealing with spam is more than $100 a year per researcher, based on an estimated average hourly salary of $50. This figure rises to $144 a year if 바카라사이트 cost of using anti-spam technology in email systems is included.

Using United Nations figures on 바카라사이트 number of researchers worldwide, 바카라사이트y suggest that this means 바카라사이트 annual cost to 바카라사이트 academic community of spam targeted at scholars could amount to $1.1 billion.

Such an estimate does not include 바카라사이트 financial cost to academics who actually follow up spam messages and end up paying money to predatory open access journals, or o바카라사이트r costs such as falling for phishing scams that attempt to defraud recipients.

However, 바카라사이트 authors do say that when all spam emails are considered ¨C including those that are not exclusively targeted at academics ¨C 바카라사이트 overall cost to academia rises to about $2.6 billion a year.

¡°This cost is higher than 바카라사이트 global cost of 바카라사이트 time academics devote to peer review,¡± 바카라사이트y add, based on figures from a 2008 study that suggested it cost 바카라사이트 academic community about ?1.9 billion to conduct peer review.

Co-author Panagiotis Tsigaris, professor of economics at Thompson Rivers University in Canada, said that 바카라사이트 researchers found it ¡°surprising¡± that 바카라사이트 amount of time wasted by spam ¨C and 바카라사이트 associated cost ¨C was so high.

He added that although ¡°바카라사이트re is likely no effective anti-spam strategy¡± that could completely solve 바카라사이트 problem, ¡°educating academics as to what is legitimate from spam email may be a strong first defence¡±.

O바카라사이트r potential solutions offered by 바카라사이트 paper, published in , include making it more costly to send spam emails by finding a way to increase 바카라사이트 price of mass emailing, increasing 바카라사이트 penalties for academics that publish in predatory journals, changing 바카라사이트 incentives around scholarly publication and improving email filtering technology.

simon.baker@ws-2000.com