avoiding predatory journals and questionable …...are publishing in predatory journals, it shows...
TRANSCRIPT
AVOIDINGPREDATORYJOURNALSANDQUESTIONABLECONFERENCES
ARESOURCEGUIDE
SARAHELAINEEATON
SarahElaineEaton PredatoryJournalsandConferences:AResourceGuide
UniversityofCalgary 2
Acknowledgements
SpecialthankstoDr.Bartlomiej“Bart”Lenart,Librarian,ResearchandLearning(Education),UniversityofCalgary,forthebackgroundheprovidedonpredatoryconferences.
WerklundSchoolofEducation,UniversityofCalgary
2500UniversityDriveNWCalgary,AB,T2N1N4,Canada
www.ucalgary.ca
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Citation(APA,6thedition)
Eaton,S.E.(2018).AvoidingPredatoryJournalsandQuestionableConferences:AResourceGuide.Calgary,Canada:UniversityofCalgary.
SarahElaineEaton PredatoryJournalsandConferences:AResourceGuide
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Abstract
Purpose:Thegoalofthisguideistoprovideaclearoverviewofthetopicsofpredatoryjournalsandquestionableconferencesandadviceonhowtoavoidthem.ThisguideintentionallyadoptsaplainlanguageapproachtoensureitisaccessibletoreaderswithavarietyEnglishlanguageproficiencylevels.Methods:ElectronicsearcheswereconductedmanuallyusingGoogleandGoogleScholar,alongwithasearchoftheUniversityofCalgarylibraryresearchdatabases.Searchtermsincludedpredatoryjournals,predatorypublisher,predatoryconference,questionableconferenceandvanityconference.Threeprimarytypesofsourcesinformedthisreport:(1)scholarlypeer-reviewedarticles;(2)reputablepopularmediasuchasestablishednewspapers;and(3)greyliteraturesuchasblogswrittenbyexpertsandscholars.Findings:Plain-languageoverviewsofpredatorypublicationsandquestionableconferencesareprovidedtohelpresearchersunderstandwhattheseareandhowtoavoidthem.Adiscussionofhowtofigureoutwhereanaspiringauthorshouldpublishtheirworkisincluded,aswellasachecklistfordeterminingifaconferenceisworththeprospectivepresenter’stimeandresources.Implications:Thereareimplicationsformentorsofgraduatestudentsandearly-careerstageacademics,aswellasforinstitutionsasawhole.Theissueofquestionableconferencesandpublicationsissocomplexthatearly-stageacademicsrequiresupportandmentorshiptocultivateadeeperunderstandingofhowtosharetheirworkinacredibleway.Additionalmaterials:Contains66referencesand2tables.
Keywords:predatory,journals,conferences,publications,research
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TableofContents
Abstract.........................................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................5
IntendedAudience...................................................................................................................................................6
Method...........................................................................................................................................................................7
Selectioncriteria..................................................................................................................................................7
Searchprocedure.................................................................................................................................................8
Analysisandsynthesisprocedure................................................................................................................8
TheUprisingoftheProfit-SeekingPredator................................................................................................9
CharacteristicsofContributors.......................................................................................................................10
UnderstandingOpenAccessandAPCs.........................................................................................................12
PredatoryJournals................................................................................................................................................13
Characteristicsofapredatoryjournal.....................................................................................................13
Howtofigureoutwheretopublishyourmanuscript......................................................................15
QuestionableConferences.................................................................................................................................16
Characteristicsofapredatoryorvanityconference.........................................................................16
Howtodetermineifaconferenceisquestionable.............................................................................18
Implications..............................................................................................................................................................19
ConsequencesforContributors..................................................................................................................19
ImplicationsforMentors...............................................................................................................................19
ImplicationsforAcademia............................................................................................................................20
Conclusions..............................................................................................................................................................21
WorksConsulted....................................................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
Notlongago,agraduatestudentwasluredinbyaconferenceinhisprecisefieldofstudyandwrotetometoletmeknowofhisacceptance.Ihadneverheardoftheconference.Ihadneverevencomeacrossthenameofitinpassing.IhaveworkedinhighereducationforalmostaquarterofacenturyandI’veheardofmanylegitimateandcredibleconferencesinmyfield,soIbecameskeptical.
Iaskednumerouscolleagues,aswellasourresidentlibrarian.Nooneelsehadheardoftheconferenceeither.OureducationlibrarianattheUniversityofCalgary,Dr.BartLenart,deservesthankssincehewenttosignificantefforttodetermineiftheconferencewaslegitimate.Intheend,wedecidedthatitwasnotawiseuseofthestudent’smoneyortime.
Asaresultofthatexperience,Istartedinvestigatingthetopicofpredatoryconferencesandjournalsinmoredepth.Istartedthisguidethinkingofothergraduatestudentsandjunioracademicswhomightbeatriskofbeingseducedintospendingvaluableresourcesontakingpart,whiledoingnothingtoadvancetheirownlearning,professionaldevelopment,scholarlyexperienceorreputation.Thestakesarehighforacademicsandthepressuretoproducecanbeoverwhelmingattimes.Thisguideisintendedtohelpscholarsmakewisedecisionsabouthowtospendtheirtime,moneyandresources,whilesimultaneouslyprotectingandpreservingtheirprofessionalreputation.
Iamnotgoingtoofferalistofanyjournalsorconferencesthatare,inmyopinion,questionable.Beall(n.d.)hasalreadydoneanexcellentjobofthis.Healsosufferedforhistroubles(Basken,2017).Othershavehadtoprintcorrectionstotheirpublishingafterimplyingthatsomeeventsmaybepredatory(McCrostie,2016).Ihavelearnedthroughmyresearchthatnamingnamescanbemoretroublethanitisworth,soIamnotgoingtodothat.Instead,Iamgoingtoprovideyouwithanoverviewofwhatamakesajournaloraconferencequestionableandgiveyousometoolssoyoucanmakeaninformeddecisionforyourself.
Grove(2017b)assertedthatthenumberofpredatoryconferencesnowoutnumbersofficialevents.By“officialevents”,hemeansconferencesorganizedbylegitimatescholarlyassociationsandsocieties(Grove,2017b).Whiletheproblemseemstobeworseinthephysicalsciences,otherdisciplinesarenotimmune(Nicoll&Chinn,2015).Thehighnumberofpredatoryconferencesandjournalsmeansthataspiringandemergingacademicshavetobesavvierthaneveraboutprotectingtheirreputation.Inacademia,reputationiseverything.Itisnotworthbeingluredinbythepromiseofaneasyacceptancetoaconferenceorpublication.
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IntendedAudience
Iwrotethisguideforgraduatestudents,researchersandanyoneelseinterestedinlearningmoreaboutquestionableconferencesorpredatoryjournals.Thereisrealpressureonaspiringandearly-careeracademicstodemonstratetheirabilitytoproduce.Thispressuremeansproducingconferencepresentationsandpublicationstoshowthatyouareworthyofacareerinacademia,orapromotionifyouhavealreadybeenhired.
Thisguidemaybehelpfultothosewhoarefurtheralongintheircareers,too.Notlongago,acolleaguecamebymyofficetoaskformyadvice.Hewasreviewingatenureapplicationforajuniorprofessorandwasworried.“Isthispersonpublishinginpredatoryjournals?”,heaskedme.Ididnotaskthenameofthejuniorprofessor.Instead,Iaskedwhatthetitlesofthejournalswere.Wesatdowninmyofficetogetheranddidsomeinvestigating.Intheend,wedeterminedthatthejunioracademicwaspublishinginlegitimateandcrediblejournals.Thereviewerwassimplyunfamiliarwiththejournalsinquestionbecausetheywerenotinhisfieldofexpertise.Webecomefamiliarwithjournalsandconferencesinourparticulararea,butassessingthecredibilityofthoseoutsideofourfieldcanbetricky.
Therearesomanynewjournalsandnewconferencespoppingupitcanbedifficult,evenforaseasonedacademic,toknowthedifference(Eriksson&Helgesson,2017).Theimportantpointhereisthatthejunioracademic’sreputation–andcareerfuture–wasontheline.Whensenioracademicswhoarereviewingyourtenureapplicationquestionifyouarepublishinginpredatoryjournals,itshowshowseriouslyacademicstakethisissue.
Itiscrucialforeveryonewhoworks,oraspirestowork,inacademiatoknowhowtoidentifyreputableconferencesandpublications–andavoidthem.
Photocredit:Colourbox.com
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Method
Myaimwiththisguideistoofferabroad,butcomprehensive,plainlanguageoverviewofthekeytopicsof(1)predatoryjournalsandpublishingand(2)questionable,predatoryorvanityconferences.Mytreatmentofeachtopicprovidesananalysisandsynthesisofmyfindings,withpracticalsuggestionsforacademics.Thereisacasetobemadefortakingaplainlanguageapproachinacademicwriting(Alford,2017;Szala-Meneok,2007).IwantedtowriteaguidethatwouldbeaccessibletoacademicswithvaryinglevelsofEnglishproficiency,soIoptedforanintentionallyplainlanguageapproachtomywriting.Iwouldaddthatalthoughthetermpredatoryiscontroversial(Christopher&Young,2015),Ihaveuseditinthisguidebecauseitiscommonlyusedandunderstoodamongacademics.
Selectioncriteria
Thisguideisnotintendedasanexhaustiveliteraturereviewofallthepossiblesources,thoughIconsultedasubstantiveandcomprehensiverangeofsourcestoinformthiswork.Myselectioncriteriaincluded:
1. Journalarticlesandeditorialspublishedincrediblescientificandresearchjournals.2. Popularmediaarticlespublishedinhighlyrespectednewspapersandonline
sources,suchasTimesHigherEducation.3. “Greyliterature”,suchasblogpostswrittenbythoughtleadersandexpertswho
haveadeepinterestinthesematters(e.g.Beall’sblog1).4. Sourcespublishedforaninternationalscholarly,scientificoracademicaudience.
1See:https://beallslist.weebly.com/
Photocredit:Psphotography–Colourbox.com
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Searchprocedure
Iconductedanonlinesearchoveraneight-weekperiodthatincludedthesearchterms:predatoryjournals,predatorypublisher,predatoryconference,questionableconferenceandvanityconference.Mysearchstrategiesfocusedonelectronicsourcesfrom:
1. ManualsearchesusingGoogleandGoogleScholar.2. UniversityofCalgarylibrarydatabases.3. Referentialsearch,usingbibliographicinformationofselectedsources.
Analysisandsynthesisprocedure
IcollectedsourcesandcreatedareferencelistofrelevantandstrategicsourcesusingEndnote.Ireviewedeachsourceindepth,makingnotesofrecurringorcommonthemessuchascharacteristicsofquestionableconferences.Usingthesenotes,Isynthesizedmyfindingsintoplainlanguage,cross-referencingsourcesasIwrote.
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TheUprisingoftheProfit-SeekingPredator
Thisguideexaminesbothpredatorypublicationsandconferences.Therearesomedistinctdifferencesbetweenthem,buttherearealsocommonalitiesthatareworthexploring.
Motivatedbymoney
Thedifferencebetweenalegitimateandquestionablepublicationorconference,canberelateddirectlytoitsmotiveforexistence.Iftheprimarymissionofajournalorconferenceistoadvanceknowledgeandsharenewscientificandresearchfindings,followinganestablishedandrigorouspeerreviewprocess,itislikelycredible.Ontheotherhand,ifthejournalorconference’sprimarypurposeistomakemoneywithlittleregardfordisseminatingqualitywork,itmaywellbepredatory,orattheveryleast,questionable.
Unscrupulousmarketing
Thoseinchargeofquestionablepublicationsoreventsengageinunscrupulouspromotion.Spame-mailstoprospectivecontributorsarecommon.Theirspammessagesareoftendetectableby:
1. poorgrammar2. poorspelling3. hyperboliclanguagebraggingabouthowprestigioustheconferenceis4. flatteryfortheprospectivecontributor,toappealtotheiregoorinexperience5. nobuttonto“unsubscribe”oroptoutoffuturemessages6. logosthatlooksimilartothoseofcrediblepublishers
Lackofcredibilityandlowquality
Ultimately,predatorypublicationsandconferencesdonothingtoadvancescientificknowledgeandnordotheyelevatethereputationofthosewhocontribute.Wordssuchas“scam”,“con”,“corrupt”,“fraudulent”,“plague”,and“bogus”havebeenusedtodescribethesepublicationsorevents(Abbott,2017;Beall,2012;Eriksson&Helgesson,2017;Jalalian,&Mahboobi,2013;Pai&Franco,2016;).
Thosebehindthesescamshavelittle“genuineconcernforcontent”(Eriksson&Helgesson,2017,p.163).Havinganendproductthatmakesanintellectualcontributiontoresearchandscholarshipisinconsequentialtothepredatorypublisherorconferenceorganizer.
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CharacteristicsofContributors
Thesejournalsorconferencesarecalled“predatory”becausetheyquiteliterallypreyonacademicswhoareeagertogainscholarlypresentationandpublicationexperience.Thisimpliesthatthesepublicationsoreventspurposelytargetspecifictypesofindividualsinaprey-likefashion,butthatdoesnotaccuratelydescribemanyoftheseorganizationswhoinsteadspampotentialcontributorsindiscriminatelyandrampantly.Beall(2016)alsousestheterm“parasitic”(p.1511)asadescriptor,whichisparticularlyhelpfulwhenweconsiderthekindsofindividualscontribute,sincesomeseemtobenefitinasymbioticwayfromtherelationshipwhileothersfeelprofessionallyweakenedbytheirexperience.
Uponexaminationoftheliterature(Bealln.d.,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016a,b,c;Grove,2017a;McCrostie2016,2017;Nicholl&Chinn,2015;Nolfi,Lockhart&Redgate,2015;Vinny,Vishnu&Lal,2016;Xia,Harmon,Connolly,Donnelly,Anderson,&Howard,2015;Ruben,2016),thosewhocontributetopredatoryorparasiticpublicationsoreventsseemtofallintothreemaincategories:(a)thosewhoaretoonaïvetoknow;(b)thosewhoknow,butdonotmind;and(c)thosepseudo-scientistswhoaremasqueradingaslegitimatescholarsorresearchers,butareessentiallyquacksorcharlatansthemselves.
TheNaïveContributorultimatelyrecognizesthattheircontributionwillbringthemlittlebenefitandtheirreputationmayevenbedamaged.
TheCognizantContributorhasamoresymbioticrelationshipwiththeparasiticalpublicationorconferencebecausetheyperceivesomebenefittotheirownadvancement.
LiketheCognizantContributor,thePseudo-Scientistalsoreceives(oratleastperceives)benefitbecausequestionableconferencesorpublicationsgivethemavenuetoproclaimtheirownexpertise,unprovenresultsorabsurdtheories.
Thetableonthenextpageoffersanoverviewofthesevarioustypes.Itisimportanttorecognizethatthesedescriptionsarenotfixedorpermanent.SomeonemightbeaNaïvecontributoronlyonceandthenbecomemorecautiousaboutwheretheychoosetosharetheirworkinthefuture.
Photocredit:PoprotskiyAlexey-Colourbox.com
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Table1:Characteristicsofcontributorstopredatoryjournalsorconferences.
Type Characteristics
Naïvecontributors
Academicsinthiscategoryare,inexperienced,unassumingornaïve.Theylackawarenessthattheyarebeingtargetedbyapredatorypublicationorconference.Thesecontributionshaveanaccidentalcharacteristictothem,becausecontributorsbelievetheirworkhasbeenselectedbecauseofitsmeritandlegitimatelypeer-reviewed.Inexperiencedacademicsmaybeespeciallytemptedtosubmittheirworktoquestionablejournalsiftheirworkhasbeenrejectedbyveryhighcaliberjournals(Nicoll&Chinn,2015).Whencontributorsdiscovertheyhavesuccumbedtoaquestionablepublicationorconferencetheymayfeelregret,dissatisfactionorembarrassment.
Cognizantcontributors
Theseindividualseitherworkin,oraspiretoworkin,academicorscientificprofessions.Theyknowthatthepublicationsoreventslackcredibilityandtheyseemnottocare.Oftentheyseemdrivenbyacompulsiontohavehighnumbersofpresentationsorpublicationsontheirc.v.’sinordertogethiredorpromoted.Cognizantcontributorsmayalsoagreetohavetheirnamesaddedtoorganizingcommitteesoreditorialboardsinordertofurtherpadtheircurriculumvitae.
Pseudo-scientists
Whetherthesecontributorsknowtheconferenceorpublicationisquestionable,islessrelevantbecausetheythemselvesmayhavequestionablecredentialsorfoolishnotionsofwhatconstitutesscholarshiporresearch.Theseindividualslikelydonotholdacredibleacademicorresearchpost,thoughtheymayclaimtobescientists.Thesecontributorsusequestionableconferencesandpublicationstolegitimizetheir(usuallyunproven)claimsortheories.Some(thoughnotall)whoengagein“advocacyresearch”(Beall,2016)mayfallintothiscategory.Beall(2016)sharesexamplesofthetypesofcontributionsfromthiscategory:claimsthatasbestosisnon-toxic;claimsofmiraclecures;thedenialofclimatechange;orclaimsofanswerstounansweredquestionsincosmology.
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UnderstandingOpenAccessandAPCs
Inthelate1990s,thenatureofscientificandacademicpublishingbegantochangewiththeintroductionofarticleprocessingcharges(APC),apublishingmodelinwhichauthorspaytohavetheirarticlespublishedinanopen-access,onlineformat(Abbott,2017;Vinnyetal.,2016).Therewasatimeacademicsmighthavedismissedtheideaofpayingtohavetheirarticleappearinajournal,buttimeshavechanged.
WhiletheintroductionofAPCsmayhavebeenintroducedwiththeOpenAccess(OA)movement.Suber(n.d.,2012)providesanin-depthexplanationofOAthateloquentlyexplainsallthekeyfeatures,includingdifferentcategoriesofOAsuchas“green”and“gold”.Anin-depthexplanationofalltheintricaciesofOAisbeyondthescopeofthisreport,soIrecommendfamiliarizingyourselfwithSuber’sworktounderstandthedetails.
Havingsaidthat,herearesomehighlightsofkeyelementsthatcharacterizeOA(Abbott,2017;Suber,n.a.,2012):
1. Foundedontheprinciplethatpublicly-fundedresearchshouldbefreelyavailabletopublic(whohaveeffectivelyalreadypaidfortheresearchwiththeirtaxdollars).
2. Copyrightremainswiththeauthor.3. Theworkisfreelyavailableinadigitalformattoreaderswithoutaprescriptionora
paywallbarrier.4. Iscompatiblewithrigorouspeerreview.Inotherwords,justbecauseaworkis
OpenAccessdoesnotmeanithasnot–orshouldnot–undergorigorouspeerreview.
5. Canbesharedinavarietyofformatssuchasjournalsordigitalrepositories.6. OAisakindofaccess,notakindofbusinessmodel.
Overthepasttwentyyears,muchhaschangedandnowAPCshavebecomemoreprevalent,evenforthemostcrediblejournals.Thepublishingmodelthatexistscurrentlyisimperfect(Anderson,2012),butitistheonewehavetocontendwith.Whatisimportanttonoteis,whetherajournalchargesanarticleprocessingfeeisnotnecessarilyanindicatorofitscredibilityorquality.Itisimportantforprospectiveauthorstoinvestigatethedetailsofajournalandthefeesitchargesbeforesubmittingamanuscript.
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PredatoryJournals
Muchhasbeenwrittenonthetopicofpredatorypublishinginbothscholarlyandpopularsources.ArguablythemostprolificandauthoritativewriteronthetopictodatehasbeenJeffreyBeall(n.d.,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016a,b,c).SinceBealllaunchedhisawarenesscampaigntoeducateacademicsaboutwhatpredatoryjournalsareandhowtoavoidthem,otherauthorshavesincejoinedthedialogueonwhathasbecomeaconversationofconcerninacademic,scientificandtechnicalcircles.
Characteristicsofapredatoryjournal
Herearesometraitsthatarecommonamongmanypredatoryjournals(Beall,2016;Eriksson&Helgesson,2017;Nolfi,2015;Vinnyetal.,2016):
1. Arenotlinkedtoorrunbyacrediblescholarly,academicortechnicalsocietyorassociation,thoughsomepretendtobe.
2. Donotreceivepublic(e.g.government)fundsorgrants.3. Sendspame-mails.4. Bragaboutthehighqualityofthejournal,whichcanincludefalseclaimsabout
journalmetricsandwhereitisindexed.5. Featuresaneditor-in-chiefwhoalsoeditsnumerousotherjournals,fromavariety
ofdifferentdisciplines.6. Makefalseclaimsaboutwherethejournalisindexed(e.g.PUBMED).7. Promisefastpublication.8. Promiseaneasypeer-reviewandprocess.9. Havetitlesveryclosetothoseofhighlyrespectedlegitimatejournals,withonly
subtlemodifications.10. Mayincludethewords,“International”,“World”,“Global”or“Universal”inthetitle.11. Claimtobebasedinmajorcities(e.g.LondonorNewYork),whentheyarereally
publishedsomewhereelse.12. Makeitdifficulttofindoutwhomanagesthejournal.
Thesearesignsthataprospectivewritermightlookforbeforetheysubmittheirworktoajournalforpublication.Itisimportanttorememberthatnoneofthesecharacteristicsinandofthemselvesisaguaranteethatajournalispredatory(Nolfietal.,2015).Forexample,therearesomehighlycrediblejournalswiththewords“International”inthetitlesuchastheInternationalJournalofComputerVision,notedatthetimeofthiswritingas
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ranking#105outofmorethan28,000journals2.Therearealsojournalsthatare“amateurishbutwell-meaning”(Abbott,2017,p.6),thatmaysharesomeofthesecharacteristics,butaspiretodeveloptheircredibilityovertime.
Asawriterseekingahigh-qualitypublicationtoshareyourresearch,lookforacombinationofthesecharacteristicsandbewaryofjournalsthatdisplaynumeroustraitsofpredatoryjournals.
2See:ScimajoJournalandCountryRank-http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php
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Howtofigureoutwheretopublishyourmanuscript
Itcanbeconfusingforprospectiveauthorstofigureoutwheretosubmittheirmanuscriptsforconsideration(Christopher&Young,2015).ConsultingBeall’swebsite3iscertainlyanexcellentplacetostart.TheDirectoryofOpenAccessJournals4alsooffersinsightsintowhichjournalsarebothopenaccessandlegitimate.Itisworthnotingthatneitherofthesewebsitesisexhaustiveandtheprudentwriterwilllookdeeplyintoajournalbeforesubmittingamanuscript(Eriksson&Helgesson,2017).Abbott(2017)counselswriterstolookforjournalswithafavourablereputationandawell-definedaimandscopethattargets“exactlythetypeofreadertheauthorintendsthearticletobereadby”(p.6).
Oneinformal,buteffectiveapproachtodeterminingwhichjournalstotargetistolookatthecurriculumvitaofahighlyrespectedscholarorresearcherinyourfield.Oftenuniversitieswillpublishthevitaoftheirprofessorsonline,makingthempubliclyaccessible.Aninformalanalysisofwherethetopscholarsinyourfieldpublishcanhelpyoucreatealistofjournalsyouwouldliketotargetforyourownwork.Similarly,askingatrustedadvisorormentorwhoiswell-respectedinyourdisciplineforadvicecanhelptosteeryoutowardsmorereputablejournals.
Consultingwithalibrariancanbeoneoftheeasiestwaystofindreputablejournalsinyourfield(Nolfietal.,2015).Librariansmaybeoneofthemosthelpfulandunder-appreciatedresourcesforscholarsandresearchersseekingtolearnmoreabouttheacademicpublicationprocess.
Investigatingthejournal’simpactfactor(IF),suchastheoneproducedbyThompsonReuters5canbeanotherwaytodetermineitscredibility.Itisworthnothingthatimpactfactorisacontestedindicatorofjournalquality(Abbott,2017).Predatoryjournalssimplylieabouttheirimpactfactors,soitcanbetrickytofigureoutthegenuineimpactthatajournalhas.Itisworthdoingsomeinvestigatingtofigureouthowobjectivethirdpartiesratetheimpactfactorofajournalyouareinterestedin.
3See:https://beallslist.weebly.com/4See:https://doaj.org/5See:ThomsonReuters’website:http://ipscience-help.thomsonreuters.com/inCites2Live/indicatorsGroup/aboutHandbook/usingCitationIndicatorsWisely/jif.html
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QuestionableConferences
Characteristicsofapredatoryorvanityconference
Therearekeyredflagsthatindicateaconferencemaybequestionable.Herearesometypicalcharacteristicsofbogusconferencesthatyoucanwatchoutforbeforeregistering(AuthorAID,2017;Bowman,2014;Beal,2015;Cowan,2016;McCrostie,2016,2017):
1. Eventisorganizedbyafor-profitentity,ratherthanacrediblescholarlyorscientificsocietyorassociation.
2. Conferencesthatcombineanumberoffieldstopicsordisciplinesintoasingleconference.Beparticularlywaryofallegedconferencesthatcombinemultiple,unrelatedtopicsintoasingleevent.
3. Theconferenceusesafreee-mailaddress,suchasaGmailaddress.4. Theorganizersspamprospectiveattendeestosubmitproposalsandregister.Often,
thesespame-mailscontainhyperboliclanguageabouthowprestigioustheconferenceis.
5. Informationaboutwhoisorganizingtheconferenceiseitherunclearornon-existent;ortheorganizerisnotwellknownorreputable.
6. Acceptancesarepromisedwithaveryshortturnaroundtime(oftenlessthanfourweeks).
7. Theconferenceismarketedasaholidayinadesirablelocation.Theeventisheldataresortorapopulartouristdestinationandmarketedasaholiday,ratherthananacademicorscientificevent.
8. Theconferencenamebearsastrikingresemblancetothatofacredibleorhighlyprestigiousconference,buthassubtleminordifferencesinitsname.
9. Organizersguaranteeyourcontributionwillbepublishedasanarticleinthejournalassociatedwiththeconference.Liketheconference,thejournalisalsopredatoryandtheorganizersmaylaterinsistonadditionalarticleprocessingchargestopublishyourarticle.
10. Theconferencewebsitesareunstable.TheymaychangeURLsorhavenorecordofconferencesinpreviousyears.
11. Thewebsitetextcontainspoorgrammarornumerousspellingerrors.12. Conferencefeesseemquitehigh,comparedtothoserunbynon-profitscholarly
societiesorassociations.
Anyoneofthesecharacteristicsalonemaynotindicateapredatoryconference.Forexample,sometimescredibleconferencesareheldatpopulartouristdestinationsinordertoencourageattendance.Lookforanumberofthesecharacteristicsincombinationand
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usecriticalthinkingskillstoassesstheoveralllegitimacyofaconference.
Sometimesattendeeswhohavebeenluredintosuchconferenceslaterreportabouttheirexperiences,whichcommonlyinclude(Beall,2015;Cowan,2016;Grove2017a,b;McCrostie,2016;Ruben,2016):
1. Uponarrivingattheconferencevenue,attendeesreportedthattheconferencehasmysteriouslybeencancelled.
2. Therewasanevent,butitdoesnotresembleascholarlyorscientificconferenceinthetraditionalsense.Itmaybeoneevent,heldinasinglemeetingroomofahotel,ratherthanspreadoutovermultiplemeetingroomslikealargeacademicconferencewouldbe.
3. Theremayhavebeenveryfewpeopleinattendance(sometimesfewerthantwentyintotal).
4. Spousesandchildrenofpresentersmayhaveattendedsessionsinordertomaketheconferenceroomslookfull.
5. “Conferences”onseveraldifferenttopicsordisciplines(sometimesmarketedasentirelydifferentconferences)wereheldinthesameroom,withpresentersbeingtheonlyonesintheroom.Theotherattendeeshadlittletonointerestinothers’presentationsbecausetheywereluredintopresentonacompletelydifferenttopic.
6. Attendeeswerepromotedtokeynotespeakersorsessionchairs.Subsequently,theirnamesandphotoswereusedwithoutpermissionontheeventorganizersforanynumberoftheirevents.
7. Someattendeeshavefeltregretorembarrassmentafterattendingapredatoryconference,recognizingthatattendingapredatoryconferencemaynothavehelpedtheirreputation.
Photocredit–Colourbox.com
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Howtodetermineifaconferenceisquestionable
Hereisachecklisttohelpyoudetermineifaconferencemaybeavanityorpredatory(AuthorAID,2017;Beall,2015;Cowan,2016;Grove2017a,b;McCrostie,2016).Considerthischecklistastartingpointtomakeaninformeddecision,ratherthananexhaustivelistofpotentialindicators.
Table2:Checklisttodetermineofaconferenceislegitimate
Question Yes/No/Unsure
Cautionarynote
HaveIheardofthisconferencebefore?
Ifyouhaveneverheardofaconferencebefore,becautiousaboutsigningup.
Howlegitimatedothewebsiteande-mailaddresslook?
Ifthee-mailisfromafreeaccount(e.g.Gmail,YahooorHotmail)orifthewebsiteURLindicatesafreewebsite,itmaybequestionable.
HaveanyofmyprofessorsorcolleagueswhomIrespectpresentedatthisconference?
Ifpeopleyouknowandrespecthaveneverpresentedatthisconference,thinktwicebeforeyouattend.
Dotheorganizersspammewithlotsofflatteringe-mails?
Ifeventorganizersarelayingontheflattery,besuspicious.Credibleconferencesareaboutsharing(evencritiquing)ideas,notstrokingyourego.
Dotheconferenceorganizersinsistthisisaprestigiousevent?
Credibleconferencesdon’thavetojustifytheircredibility.
DoIknowwhoisorganizingthisconference?
Iftheconferenceisnotorganizedbyaprofessional,scholarlyortechnicalassociationorsocietyyouknowandtrust,bewary.
Doorganizersguaranteeacceptancequickly?
Questionableconferencesoftenguaranteeaveryshortdecisiontimeforyourabstract.
Doorganizersguaranteetopublishyourconferencepaperasanarticleintheirjournal?
Credibleconferencesalmostneverguaranteepublicationofpaperswithoutpeerreview.
Isthisconferenceheldataresortortouristdestination?
Ifaconferenceismarketedasaholidayratherthanascholarlyevent,itmaybepredatory.
Doesthisconferencelooktoogoodtobetrue?
Ifanopportunitylookstoogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.Consultwithatrustedadvisor.
Anotetoprofessors:Feelfreetosharethischecklistwithyourstudentsanduseitasaconversationtooltopreventyourstudentsfromfallingpreytopredatoryconferences.
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Implications
ConsequencesforContributors
Itmaybedifficulttodefineexactlytheconsequencesareforthosewhocontributetopredatorypublicationsorconferences,thereseemstobegeneralagreementintheliteraturethattheimpacttoanacademic’scareercanbenegative(Beall,2015;Byard,2016;Cariappa,Dalal,&Chatterjee,2016;Christopher&Young,2015;Clark,2015;Nicholl&Chinn,2015;Nolfietal.,2015).
Thequestionofreputationismentionedthroughouttheliterature,withtheimplicationbeingthatthecareerofanacademicisfoundedontheirreputationforhighqualityresearchorscholarship.Thekindsofjournalswepublishinandtheconferenceswepresentatareimplicitlyjudgedtobeareflectionofourownreputationasanacademic.
TheexampleIofferedatthebeginningofthisguideabouttheseniorprofessorwhowastryingtodetermineifajuniorcolleaguewasworthyofrecommendationfortenureandpromotionisnoteworthy.Bowman(2014)
Theoverallreputationofaninstitutioniscomprised,inpart,oftherespectabilityofeachindividualacademicwhoisassociatedwithit.Ifanindividualisdeemedtobeofill-repute,asdeterminedbytheircolleagues,theymayfinditdifficulttosecureorkeepanacademicpostatahighlyrespectedinstitution.Whetheranacademicsecuresafull-timeappointmentorapromotionmaybetheultimateformofpeer-reviewandhence,demonstratingqualitycontributionsisparamount.
ImplicationsforMentors
Senioracademicscanplayanimportantroleinhelpingjuniorcolleaguesandgraduatestudentscultivateboththeirreputationandastrongpublicationrecord.Thosewithmoreexperienceinacademicpublishinghavedifferentperceptionsaboutwheretosubmittheirmanuscriptsandwhy,andasaresult,itisimportantformentorsisimportanttoraiseawarenessamongthosewithlessexperience(Christopher&Young,2015).
Onestrategythathastraditionallybeenrecommendedtoearly-careeracademicsisforthemto“aimhigh”withtheirpublicationsandconferenceproposals.Then,iftheyarerejectedto“aimlower”(Nicoll&Chinn,2015).Theproblemisthatrejectioncanbediscouragingandinanenvironmentwhereacademicsmusteither“publishorperish”,sometimes“aimlower”isinterpretedas“Getyourmanuscriptpublishedanywhereyoucan,andfast!”Itisimportantformentorstointerveneduringthisprocessinordertohelp
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juniorcolleaguesunderstandthatrejectionofamanuscriptdoesnotequatetoablowtotheirreputation,butpublishinginapredatoryjournalmightbe!
Itisimportantforexperiencedscholarstoteachjuniorcolleaguesandgraduatestudentsthatitmaybemoreimpressivetoturndownaso-calledinternationalconferencethantobeluredbyone(Ruben,2016).Inshort,thosewho“knowtheropes”canhelpthosewhoarecomingupthroughtheranksapplytheircriticalthinkingandanalyticalskillstotheirowncareerdevelopment.
ImplicationsforAcademia
Grove(2017b)pointsoutthatuniversitieshavedonelittletoraiseawarenessaboutthisissue,whichposesaparticularproblemforearly-careeracademics,aswellasgraduatestudents.Whilereviewingtheliteratureforthisguide,Iobservedthatnumerousuniversitylibrarieshaveproducedresourcesintheformofawebpageoraguide(a“libguide”,astheyareoftencalled).Awebpageoralibguideareeffectivelypassiveresources,meaningthatanindividualhastogolookingforinformationonthetopic.
Whileitishelpfultohaveresources,librariansaloneshouldnotbeartheinstitutionalresponsibilityforhelpingmembersoftheacademiccommunityavoidquestionablepublicationsorconferencesinthehandsoflibrarians.Institutionsasawhole,aswellasindividualfacultiesanddepartmentsmusttakeanactiveroleineducatingearly-careeracademicsandgraduatestudentsthroughworkshops,on-goingdialogue,andotherformsofsupporttoensuremembersoftheacademiccommunityarefocusingoncultivatingtheircredibilitydirectingtheirenergiestowardshighlycrediblepublicationsandconferences.Institutionalofficesofresearchandotherswithbudgetaryoversightneedtodotheirduediligencewhenallocatingfundsforconferencesorpublicationfees(Bowman,2014;Nicoll&Chinn,2015).Barroga(2015)putsitsuccinctlywhenhesays,“Allstakeholdersmustraiseawarenessandeducateauthorsaboutpredatorypublishinganditsethicalimplications”(p.1535).
Essentially,theresponsibilityforhelpingscholarspublishandpresenttheirworkinhighqualitywaysisaresponsibilitysharedbyindividualacademics,aswellasacademicdepartments,facultiesandinstitutionsasawhole,aswellasthosewhoworkinthepublishingindustry.
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Conclusions
Ultimately,thequestionyouareaskingyourselfis:Isthisconferenceorjournalworthmy…
1. Time?2. Money?3. Reputation?
Oneofthemostimportanttraitsofanacademicistheirreputation(Nolfietal.,2015;Matešić,Vučković,&Dovedan,2010).Aspiringandjunioracademics,inparticular,areinavulnerableposition.Theymustshowthattheycanproduceconcreteoutputsoftheirresearchinordertogethiredorbepromoted.Simultaneously,academicsmuststrivetocultivateareputationofexcellenceasanoutstandingscholarorresearcherwhosecontributionstoknowledgearehighqualityandmeaningful.Thisismorethanaquestionoffindingbalance.Itisaquestionofcarefullyandintentionallycultivatingalifelongcareerwithhighqualityworkasitsfoundation.
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WorksConsulted
Thefollowingworksinformedandinfluencedthedevelopmentofthisguide:
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Abouttheauthor
SarahElaineEaton,Ph.D.,isafacultymemberattheWerklundSchoolofEducation,UniversityofCalgary,Canada.Eaton’sresearchinterestsfocusonacademicintegrityandplagiarismpreventioninhighereducation.
EatonisanadvocateofOpenAccessandOpenEducationalResources.ShehaspublishedanumberofresourcesthatarefreelyavailablethroughaCreativeCommonsLicense.Manyoftheseresourcesareavailablefromherblog:www.drsaraheaton.wordpress.com.
OtherplacesyoucanfindherOpenAccessworkincludetheEducationResourceInformationCenter(ERIC);theUniversityofCalgary’sdigitalrepository(PRISM);theInformalEducationArchives(www.infed.org);ResearchGate;andAcademia.edu,amongothersites.
Viewherfacultyprofilehere:http://werklund.ucalgary.ca/educ_info/profiles/sarah-eaton
Photocredit:ClaytonMacGillivray,UniversityofCalgary.