Avoiding publishing in predatory journals: An evaluation algorithm

Abstract

Academics and scholars need to publish their research results. In addition, they are required to publish scientific papers to prove their research commitment and to achieve certain academic titles in higher education institutions. Globally, there are many scientific journals of well-known publishing houses/universities, which offer opportunities to publish scientific work. One of the recent topics in academic circles is the increasing number of invitations to publish articles via quick procedures, without going through the adequate review process. This phenomenon is threatening academic integrity, as these publishers/journals aim at financial benefits and not contributing to scientific development and progress. There is a gap in the knowledge of the scientific researchers regarding the journal selection to publish their work. Some of them are still unintentionally publishing in such journals, mainly as a lack of information about them. The main purpose of this study is awarenessraising, warning, and guidance of scientific researchers, particularly young researchers by providing information on how to avoid submitting manuscripts in these journals. To achieve this, we have consulted the recent literature and practices of different countries, summarized the most used tools/methods to identify predatory publishers and journals, and lastly, we have developed a guiding algorithm for evaluating them.

Academia Should Stop Using Beall’s Lists and Review Their Use in Previous Studies

“…Many papers that discuss predatory publishing offer some advice, often in the form of checklists, as to how they can be avoided. This topic alone would merit its own article, but there are some examples [30,31,32,33]. The issue with this approach is that it requires the scholar to be familiar with the literature on predatory publishing which, of course, most will likely not be.…”