Scam publishing and its impact on the scholarly publishing community Deidré Mvula October 2018 The Taylor & Francis Group has been publishing academic research since 1798. Only possible by staying up to date with publishing industry trends. Recently shift in thinking where it has become more important for publishers and publishing community to collaborate and work towards mutually beneficial arrangements. T&F exposed to various trends and we feel it’s important to share our insights with our publishing partners

Stipulations highlighted in the NRF Statement on predatory journals: 1) ensure that researchers and students adhere to the principles of research integrity and are aware of predatory journals and deceptive publishers; 2) avoid publishing in journals that do not have a rigorous peer review system or scholarly publishing practices

What is scam publishing? "Predatory publishers use deception to appear legitimate, entrapping researchers into submitting their work and then charging them to publish it" (Jeffrey Beall)

Why does scam publishing exist? Internationally, increasing need to publish research quota for graduation/promotion purposes: Demand exceeds supply (legitimate journals) ‘Entrepreneurs’ see excess demand, provide a quick ‘solution’ Exploitation via two main routes: Victims: lack of author awareness, esp. dev. countries Co-conspirators: knowingly wanting immediate, unethical results Aggressive (or predatory) in soliciting submissions

Characteristics of scam publishing

First Response: Blacklisting Bealle’s List of potential, possible, or probable Predatory Scholarly Open Access Journals & Publishers Beall, a librarian and a particular favourite reference point for many, and for a long time, a lone voice in systematically trying to keep track of predatory OA titles and publishers. www.tandfonline.com/page/openaccess

Whitelisting www.tandfonline.com/page/openaccess If unsure, use these resources to check if journal is listed here. If not, does not mean you’re dealing with a scam publisher but proceed with caution www.tandfonline.com/page/openaccess

THINK. CHECK. SUBMIT. A publishing industry initiative which aims to help you make informed choices, and choose trusted journals to publish your research Provides you with a toolkit to assess whether the journal you plan to submit to is appropriate for your work, and is also a respected, reputable journal No definitive answer of which journals to avoid or submit to almost 1,000 new journals were launched in 2014 alone with new titles launching almost daily it is nearly impossible to stay on top of the latest journals in each field What is Think. Check. Submit.? A publishing industry initiative which aims to help researchers make informed choices, and to choose trusted journals to publish their research Why do you need Think. Check. Submit.? - To help you identify high-quality journals which would be appropriate for submitting your research To help protect you against fraud and publishing malpractice, due to the growth of ‘predatory publishers’ Think. Check. Submit. is a useful set of tools to help you check that you are submitting your article to a respected journal from a reputable publisher. Remember, though there, are other sources of support available to you as you seek publication – so do seek advice from departmental colleagues, and your subject librarian about the best publication outlet for your work. AuthorAID is also available as a source of support, mentoring, resources and training for researchers in developing countries.

The Think. Check. Submit. checklist Do you or your colleagues know the journal? Have you read any articles in the journal before? Is it easy to discover the latest papers in the journal? Can you easily identify and contact the publisher? Is the publisher name clearly displayed on the website? Can you contact publisher by telephone, email, and post? Is the journal clear about the type of peer review it uses? Are articles indexed in services that you use? To help make sure you’re choosing a journal you can trust, Think Check Submit has created a useful checklist you can use before submitting your research. These are just a few examples of the questions you can ask yourself to make sure you’re choosing a reputable journal.

Is it clear what fees will be charged? Does the journal site explain what these fees are for and when they will be charged? Do you recognise the editorial board? Have you heard of the editorial board members? Do the editorial board mention the journal on their own websites? Is the publisher a member of a recognized industry initiative? Do they belong to the Committee on Publication Ethics? If the journal is open access, is it listed in the DOAJ? If the journal is open access, does the publisher belong to the Open Access Scholarly Publishers’ Association (OASPA)? Is the publisher a member of another trade association?

How to differentiate between journals? Apply a rigorous academic process in selecting your journal! Interrogate info provided: does it translate into action, proof? Do you frequently read the journal? Have you cited it? Do leading scholars in the field publish in it, not just from your own institution or network? What value do they add? What are you paying for? What do reputable journals/publishers do beyond mere publication? Statement of publishing ethics, COPE membership Marketing and discoverability for your paper Digital content preservation, (C)LOCKSS OA without discoverability is futile – so much out there, need to differentiate

Trust, Authority and Quality Validation of integrity of scholarly research, reinforced by: Journal brand; Editors and Board expertise; Publisher brand; and Society brand Society and Publisher brands increasingly important marks of trust, authority and peer review standards, scientific authority, especially in Open/Public Access world Journal brand still key signifier of authority, trust and quality standards enshrined in rigorous peer review. New peer review processes being experimented with pilots will provide evidence of popularity and effectiveness of new models

Supporting organisations Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) BioMed Central Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) INASP ISSN International Centre Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche (Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER)) Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Springer Nature International Association of STM Publishers (STM) Ubiquity Press UKSG

Impact on researchers Longer term reputation and career prospects sacrificed for immediate gains. No academic gain (no peer review, value added) Permanent stain on academic reputation Even if research is sound, it will likely be disregarded by the academic community if published in a predatory journal Waste of research funding – could be held accountable by funding agencies

Impact on broader community Every good paper published in a scam journal is one fewer keeping legitimate journals afloat No academic contribution being made, which no-one will then build upon and publish new research on Librarians needing to know what international publishing standards are within the OA context Not black and white - there is no single identifier or single list that can be used

Main points to carry forward Don't blame the deceptive publishers - think critically and engage in your research community Uphold publishing ethics yourself, don't do anything to compromise your career Not black and white - there is no single identifier or single list that can be used Always publish in journals that uphold international academic standards and have a statement of publishing ethics

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