Authors of a two-year study exposing various dodgy publishing practices urged delegates at the World Science Forum in Cape Town last week to help raise awareness about the risks predatory journals pose to scientists in the early stages of their careers, the practices “often motivated by profit, not scholarship”, they said.
The biannual conference attracts worldwide researchers and policymakers and was held in Africa for the first time this year, reports Business Day, from 6-9 December.
More than 80% of the more than 1 800 respondents from 112 countries taking part in the study by the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) said predatory journals and conferences were a growing problem, and on the rise, particularly in low- and middle-income countries
The IAP is a global network of more than 140 science, engineering and medical academies, including the Academy of Science of SA.
“Predatory practices” include suspect journals publishing academic research for a fee without subjecting studies to rigorous peer review; fake editorial boards that falsely list respected scientists and journal or conference titles that are deceptively similar to those of legitimate publications; and persistent spam invitations soliciting articles and abstracts outside a researcher’s area of expertise.
Predatory journals exploit the pressure on researchers to “publish or perish”, while predatory conferences prey on their need to present their work to their peers.
Profit motive
“I don’t think people realise how serious it is,” said Academy of Science of SA director Susan Veldsman, co-chair of the IAP report. Predatory practices “are motivated by profit, not scholarship. They jeopardise the whole research system and damage careers… it is damage done forever,” she said.
Respondents described how being duped into publishing in predatory journals had delayed the completion of PhDs, blown promotion prospects and left a stigma they carried through their careers, she said. “Can you retract it? No, it sticks.”
Of the respondents, 14% admitted to having published papers in predatory journals or participated in predatory conferences, either because they were unaware of it at the time or because they wanted to advance their careers.
Another 10% said they did not know if they had been involved in predatory practices, highlighting the difficulty of detecting unethical behaviour, she said. Billions of dollars of research costs were wasted as a result of these practices, she said.
“We urge research officers and advocates to work to raise awareness about predatory publishing. The repercussions of not addressing it threaten science and society,” she said.
Funders of scientific research had a critical role to play, said National Research Foundation strategic partnerships director Sepo Hachigonta. "We use public money, so if we don’t put in place mechanisms to combat these practices we lose money as a system and as a society,” he said.
The National Research Foundation is a statutory body that channels government funding to researchers and students.
1. Full report - English FINAL
Business Day article – Forum warned predators are on the loose in science circles (Restricted access)
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