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Predatory Scholarship

What is Predatory Scholarship?

Predatory scholarship is a broad term used to describe all predatory behavior that occurs in the scholarly communication ecosystem. The two most common examples are:

  • Predatory publishing
  • Predatory conferences

Predatory publishing refers to an exploitative open-access publishing model in which publishers, under the guise of legitimate academic journals, charge publication fees to authors without providing the typical editorial and publishing services associated with legitimate journals (e.g., rigorous peer review and editorial oversight).. 

Predatory conferences, sometimes referred to as predatory meetings or fake conferences, are pseudo-scientific events that mimic legitimate conferences. Their main goal is to generate profits rather than promote academic knowledge and research exchange.

Predatory Publishing Information Page

What to consider before submitting to a journal:

  • Quality: Predatory publishers often have weak or non-existent peer review processes. Scholarly communication depends on new research being critically evaluated by experts in the field.
  • Acceptance and Publication Timeline: Predatory publishers often offer much shorter publication timelines than more credible journals
  • Misleading Impact Factors: Predatory publishers often falsely advertise impacting factors, using the langue impact factor generically rather than referring to the impact factor available through Clarivate (Web of Science) that many scholarly consider "the impact factor".
  • Ambiguous or False Information: Predatory publishers often provide unclear or false information about the editorial board, publishing practices, and/or the journal's physical location.

Predatory Conferences Header

What to consider before submitting to a conference or accepting an invited talk:

  • Proposal Acceptance Timeline: Predatory conferences typically accept submissions quickly, often without any form of rigorous review.
  • Fake or Overstated List of Speakers: Predatory conferences often advertise a list of high-profile speakers who have not agreed to attend or participate.
  • Multiple Conferences at Same Time and Place: Predatory conferences often organize several events on unrelated topics at the same place and time
  • Poor Organization and Execution: Predatory conferences often fail to provide adequate support for attendees.