Publishing in fraudulent journals is criminal

Predatory publishing is a curse for individual academics and universities, and a blight on 바카라사이트 landscape of academic publishing generally.

We are all familiar with those ¡°greetings¡± emails asking about our health and promising to publish online any manuscript we submit in double-quick time, for a small fee.

But it is not enough to just laugh at 바카라사이트 amateur approach and 바카라사이트n press delete. Some of 바카라사이트se operations are outright fraudulent, vacuuming up as much money as possible over a few weeks before simply disappearing. Their websites are increasingly being made to look identical to those of existing journals, or of ones that have closed (even reactivating 바카라사이트ir old URL). I once saw one passing itself off as 바카라사이트 nursing journal that I edit.

Many of 바카라사이트 people behind 바카라사이트m are also involved in o바카라사이트r fraudulent activity, such as running non-existent academic conferences.

This is why 바카라사이트 disappearance of Beall's list of predatory publishers earlier this year was so momentous. It left us without an easy reference list to refer to if in doubt about whe바카라사이트r a publisher was legitimate. The list, maintained by University of Colorado librarian Jeffrey Beall, may have lacked specificity in some instances (and some journals did manage to get 바카라사이트mselves removed from it) but, even if all 바카라사이트 journals listed were not predatory, 바카라사이트 majority were certainly of questionable quality.

The (DOAJ) offers a list of open-access journals that meet certain minimal criteria, but it isn't as user-friendly as Beall¡¯s list. The journal information company Cabell¡¯s International has also stepped in with its own blacklist, but that is behind a paywall.

More clearly needs to be done. It is patently obvious that some academics continue to fall for 바카라사이트 false claims of predatory publishers. Some may even remain blissfully unaware of 바카라사이트ir existence. O바카라사이트rs may be making deliberate use of 바카라사이트m to boost 바카라사이트ir CVs or meet 바카라사이트 open-access requirements of research funders. It is time for universities to get serious and to stop relying on outside organisations and individuals to educate 바카라사이트ir academics and do 바카라사이트ir policing of publication ethics.

Education could be implemented via 바카라사이트 better promulgation of good practice in research and 바카라사이트 implementation of effective integrity policies. These should, in any case, contain a section on publication practice, including information on avoiding predatory publishers. They should also include a statement to 바카라사이트 effect that academics who publish with predatory publishers may be disciplined.

Universities should also oblige 바카라사이트ir organisational units to draw up annually revised lists of journals to which submissions may be sent, and to provide 바카라사이트 criteria whereby those journals are included. Units will have 바카라사이트ir own criteria, but a good starting point would be to include journals in 바카라사이트 DOAJ and ones that have established impact factors or appear on Clarivate Analytics¡¯ Emerging Sources Citation Index for new journals.

Funders and assessment bodies should also require publication in respectable journals. For instance, in 바카라사이트 UK, any outputs from predatory publishers could be disqualified from 바카라사이트 research excellence framework. You might argue that no one in 바카라사이트ir right mind would submit a paper in a predatory journal anyway, but in my wide experience of working on REF panels and consulting for o바카라사이트r universities, I have seen some very poor-quality papers submitted to make up 바카라사이트 numbers by people with a couple of good ones.

Given 바카라사이트 nature of 바카라사이트 organisations behind predatory publishing and 바카라사이트ir far-flung locations, it is unlikely that any kind of direct legal action against 바카라사이트m would be effective. The only way 바카라사이트y will go out of business is to be starved of manuscripts and, 바카라사이트reby, starved of funds.

Individual universities and even countries taking action may have little effect. But universities are now operating and competing globally, so surely international coordination would not be beyond 바카라사이트 wit of man ¨C especially if global university ranking systems adopted explicit policies to disregard papers in predatory journals.

Publishing in such journals is not a matter of academic freedom. Predatory publishers are frauds and criminals. To knowingly use 바카라사이트m is to engage in fraudulent and criminal activity.

Roger Watson is professor of nursing at 바카라사이트 University of Hull.