Questions tagged [disreputable-publishers]
For questions about publishers that are reputed to engage in unethical and/or dishonest practices.
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How do you judge the quality of a journal?
A colleague and I recently submitted a paper to a journal with an impressive-sounding name, the "International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Computational Research". According to ...
134
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How do I identify predatory and low quality journals? With Beall's List gone, how can I tell if a journal is spam?
Jeffrey Beall removed his list of predatory journals from the internet this past Sunday. While the reasons for his doing this are not yet public, this is a real loss of a valuable service. Does anyone ...
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What are "fake", "shady", and/or "predatory" journals?
This question is in response to this very interesting question. The original post mentioned that they wish to retract their paper from a "fake" journal. I don't know what a fake journal is but better ...
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How is it possible that [insert known crackpot] has articles published in Peer-Reviewed Journals?
Note: This question is intended to be a generic version of something that gets asked occasionally on this site. I apologize for making it overly-contrived, but it's intended to be a generic template ...
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Should I accept review requests from dubious journals?
I'm a graduate student with, so far, one published article in a peer-reviewed journal. Since the article came out, I've been receiving increasing amounts of "academic e-mail spam" from people wanting ...
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Has a journal ever switched between being a predatory journal and a reputable one?
There are a lot of questions here on what predatory journals are, and how to tell if a journal is one or not.
Are there known cases where a journal has "switched" camps, or where substantial evidence ...
62
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Distinguish starting journals from predatory ones
As you know, there are journals -predatory journals- which are just publishing scams, without actual peer review, etc. but look like genuine ones, and it is a problem for the honest researcher to ...
61
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How can I withdraw a publication from a predatory (fake) journal and resubmit to a legitimate journal?
I have published a paper in a fake journal. I want to withdraw the paper from that journal.
After successful withdrawal from the fake journal, can I can submit the same paper to a legitimate journal?...
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Is Lambert Academic Publishing a reputable company?
I was contacted by the Acquisition editor of Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP) to publish my bachelor's thesis as a printed book. Is LAP any good? I have no idea about it; I have just heard that it's ...
57
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What to do when a good article is published in a predatory online journal that disappears?
European International Journal of Science and Humanities (EIJSH) published my article about 2 years ago. The publication was online. The problem is that I haven't been able to access the EIJSH website ...
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How to identify predatory publishers/journals
What are the best strategies for assessing if a journal is a "vanity" or "predatory" journal that should be avoided (both for publishing in and reviewing for)? For example, how ...
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Why do publishing scams use "lҽttҽr ѕubstitυtҽs"?
I get plenty of scam mail, but the scam mail from predatory journals has a unique habit of using odd substitutes for normal roman letters. For example;
You Are Inᴠіtҽd to Pυbliѕհ Your Original ...
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What should I do if I submitted an article to a predatory journal?
Call it stupidity or bad luck but I am guilty of submitting my research article to a journal which is listed in Beall's List of Predatory Publishers.
It is my first article and I don't have much ...
49
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Should I contact accomplished researchers listed as editors of shady journal?
I recently got an unsolicited email advertising a questionable-looking mathematics journal. Upon investigation, it looks pretty shady: page charges, manuscripts to be submitted in Microsoft Word (...
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Rejection from a legitimate journal, with reviewers recommending me to try a Beall's list journal
Recently I received a rejection by the editor of SCI Expanded journal (which I consider to be a legitimate journal):
The reviewer's comments (just a few days after I submitted the manuscript):
...
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Is a request to publish an article in Research Features a scam?
I regularly receive emails from Open Access predatory journals or conferences asking me to publish an article or attend some kind of conference somewhere. Usually, those emails are easy to identify.
...
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What to do when you have accidentally submitted an article to a predatory journal
I'm an inexperienced researcher and I made the stupid mistake of submitting my article to a predatory journal. I realised the journal was fake when they failed to provide the reviewers comments.
I ...
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How serious can this review invitation be?
I published my first article a while ago, nothing special, just rigorous formalization of some well-known facts.
Now I got a mail writing
We have read about your published precious paper in ...
35
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I was published in a journal on Beall's list - how bad is my mistake?
Please pardon my somewhat peculiar case, I hope this is still a question useful to others.
After school I became an undergrad but paused studying after a few semesters of university to work full time....
34
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What is the best way to publicize the existence of a fraudulent journal?
Earlier this year, I was anonymously informed of the existence of a fraudulent journal, Reactive Oxygen Species. When I investigated, I found that the "Editorial Team" of "international experts" ...
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Is there a website that lists the journals that are actually scams? [duplicate]
I constantly receive emails from editors asking me to submit papers for their journals.
However, only a handful of them originate from a trustworthy source. The vast majority are just scams — ...
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Why do vanity journals exist?
I'm confused about the existence of vanity journals. My impression is that they often charge significant sums of money yet provide no peer review, editing, etc.
If I want to claim I published ...
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Journal employees offering free publication in return for co-authorship and citations: is it a scam?
Some of my colleagues and I got offers from employees of some reputed journal (not from journal itself), to publish our research paper for free, if:
We include their name as co-author
We use 60%+ ...
28
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My paper was withdrawn from predatory journal after publication, what should I do?
I am currently in a very embarrassing situation.
I have a paper (forgot to say, this paper takes no more than two pages) submitted to a journal. The journal accepted my paper for publication and I ...
27
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Does a publication in a predatory journal negatively impact admissions decisions?
I have published an original research paper in what was claimed by Beall's list to be a predatory journal. Considering the way they reviewed my paper, the corrections they gave me, and the many ...
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Is it a good idea to cite paper from publisher listed in Beall’s list
While writing the literature review for my paper, I found another paper which is closely related to my research. Unfortunately, the paper’s publisher is on Beall’s List. Hence, I wonder if citing the ...
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Is there an actual, physical event associated with predatory conferences?
I occasionally receive emails inviting me to present in a predatory conference. These are usually easy to identify, given that they call me a "Dr" or a "Prof" (only a PhD student at the moment), never ...
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What can/should be done about journals that spam potential contributors?
I'm a very early stage researcher and my first two conference papers could have been better, but that doesn't stop new journals spamming me with offers to publish my work. This morning I received two ...
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How to make sure that a conference is not a scam when you are invited as a speaker?
I received an invitation from Neuroscience & Brain Disorders (NBD 2021) conference to present my work as an honorable speaker. My research interests are related to the topics of this conference ...
23
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Do reputable journals ever conduct peer review entirely by email?
In the comments to one of the answers to this question, the asker points out that he is asked to submit his review of a manuscript for publication via email and that there is no formal online system ...
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Should I tell a colleague that he's serving as an editor for a predatory journal?
A colleague of mine, who I regard scientifically, just invited me to submit an article to a special issue of a journal which I consider predatory.
I consider this journal predatory because its ...
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Experiences with Scientific Research Publishing (SCIRP) journals [closed]
Recently I've been receiving an increasing number of invitations to submit papers to several new Open-Access journals published by Scientific Research Publishing (SCIRP).
Has anybody here had any ...
22
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Is it right to ignore publications coming from non-top publishers?
When I look into a specific problem over Google Scholar and simple Google Search, I find many related publications from publishers other than IEEE, ACM, Elsevier, Springer etc.
Usually the authors ...
21
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Should I publish in a journal that appears on Beall’s list?
I have written an article in the field of Information Systems and I would like to publish it in a journal. I downloaded the Scimago journal rank, and decided to publish in a journal called Journal of ...
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What can be done when a professor from reputable institute asks me to publish in a predatory journal?
So, I've received what was in many respects a perfectly normal spam message of the form;
Due to your recent publication [title of my paper] you are invited
to contribute a chapter to a book on [topic ...
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1
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Should I do peer-review for a predatory conference? [duplicate]
As a first, I recently received an invitation to peer review for a predatory (or at least shady) conference - in contrast to the tons of unsolicited invitations to publish papers with their journals ...
20
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How to explain to my boss where not to publish?
I have some continuing misunderstandings with my advisor. For some time I am actually doing my research as a one man show, but due to my faults and a lot of work I still did not finish my PhD. I am ...
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After my abstract was accepted I learned that the journal is predatory. How can I protect my abstract?
I submitted an abstract to a journal that is on the predatory list of publishers. It has been accepted within hours, but I only now learned that publishing there involves fees and that the journal is ...
19
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How can I tell whether a mathematics journal seems reputable?
There are some general questions on this site about judging the reputability of journals in general:
How do you judge the quality of a journal? and
How to identify predatory publishers/journals
I ...
19
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2
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Do most customers choose predatory publishers knowingly?
In this comment, it was claimed:
Predatory publishers thrive because when you apply for a job or a grant, few read your papers. They check the papers you pinpoint and the number of publcations. ...
18
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Were predatory journals widespread before publishers of reputable journals introduced the "author pays" model?
After reading yet another news article about predatory journals/conferences and how they weigh on the finances of labs in some countries, I started to wonder the following. Were they widespread before ...
17
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How do I complain to chair if my advisor regularly writes to scam journals to get tenure?
My advisor and his PHD Students are writing regularly to journals published by a publisher, which is on Beall’s list of Predatory Journals. I emailed Beall and he told me that the journals were ...
17
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How can I assess the quality of a paper outside my field?
As per the title, I would like to determine whether a paper cited by a student comes from a reputable source or not, given that the paper's content lies outside my field. My first thought was to check ...
17
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Is it best to avoid all interactions with disreputable or predatory conferences?
Potentially predatory publishers and journals (as listed on Beall’s list here) are springing up more and more often, but they do not always stick to journals and publishing articles. Some host ...
17
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Comparative quality of articles in questionable journals
This question on citing from publications on Beall's list got me thinking...
The list itself details predatory publishers, who follow bad practices or bad business models. However, is there any ...
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Is it bad to join the editorial board of a journal on Beall’s list?
These days, many scholarly journals are emerging. Since they are not famous or high impact, they look for less famous scientists to fill their editorial board. This scheme fits many mid-level ...
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Should I review for a new journal whose publisher is unjustifiably listed in Beall's list of predatory publishers?
I received a review request from an open access journal, which is brand new. It has published about 10 articles so far. The articles seem to be of mediocre quality but do not seem to plagiarize other ...
16
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Why do open access consortia affiliate themselves with questionable publishers
The open access publishing world has a number of predatory publishers. Many know about Beall's list which identifies publishers and journals that engage in questionable practices. The existence of ...
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What are the good indicators of fake conferences? [duplicate]
Here is the story:
After working on a project for a couple of months, I put the results in a scientific paper format in case I would submit it to a conference or yet this is a good practice for my ...
16
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What is the consenus of IntechOpen, open access books, are they predatory? [closed]
I have received an unsolicited request to write a chapter for a book relevant to my research. I have searched the current editors and they are actual people but not very well known in the field. On ...