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Predatory Publishers & Other Bad Actors

Traditionally, scholarly journals have a peer review system in place to ensure the research they publish is of high quality.

Predatory publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices (Grundniewicz et al., 2019).

And while publishers can and do make money off of the scholarly content they sell to libraries, business, etc., they also aim to contribute credible research to the scholarly record. In contrast, predatory publishing:

  • "exists to make money with little or no consideration of the scholarly record
  • uses spam and they promise rapid peer-reviewed publication in order to attract authors
  • The peer review process that occurs is superficial or non-existent. Predatory publishers will peer review and accept papers or conference proposals in absurdly short periods of time, sometimes as little as a day or two.
  • Fees for publication are often not transparent. The worst situation is when authors, who recognize too late that a journal is not legitimate, are unable to withdraw their papers."

--Berger, M. 2017. “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Predatory Publishing but Were Afraid to Ask," ACRL, 206-217.

How to Avoid Predatory Publishers

Over the years, whitelists and blacklists have been created in an attempt to help authors distinguish between predatory and legitimate journals. However, because each journal is unique and editorial practices can change over time, it's best to evaluate each journal on an individual basis using some established criteria. 

If you receive a solicitation from a journal and are unsure whether it is predatory, talk to a trusted professor or librarian