Beware the Call of the Predatory Journal— by Lizzy Walker, Metadata and Digital Initiatives Librarian

Let's start with a hypothetical situation. You're a graduate student or a faculty member waking up, grabbing your first cup of tea or coffee for the day, and you skim your email before you jump into the day's routine. You spot a call for articles from an unfamiliar journal. The editor has selected you based on your expertise in your particular field. An invited article? It's an appealing offer. The editor even mentions that it is an open access journal. How great is that? All you have to do is send in your manuscript and the listed fee at your earliest convenience. You've heard of colleagues going through the same motions to get their articles published in other open access journals, so no big deal. Right?

Wrong. You may have been targeted by a predatory journal.

What is a predatory journal? The most basic answer is that a "predatory journal is a journal that deceptively takes from an author."[1] To narrow this definition, I would add that predatory publishers are exploiting the open access movement by using the terminology in their messages to target authors.

A few emails you received from open access predatory journals have titles that sound official. However, it will be fairly obvious whether they are a predatory journal. For example, I have received emails from engineering, health sciences, and mathematics OA journals in the past. My expertise is in metadata and digital initiatives librarianship. Nowhere in my credentials is there evidence of having any experience in their purported fields, yet they mention that, after "careful consideration" of my credentials and research interests, my research would be the perfect fit for their publication. Yet…I have never published anything in their field whatsoever. In these cases, it is quite simple to disregard these requests and chuck them in the junk folder.

To many of you, this may not be news. However, new researchers may not have been warned about the dangers of publishing with a predatory journal. Here are a few tips that may save you the time, money, and the wasted effort of submitting your valuable work into such a journal.

1. Research the journal. This may be obvious, but it should be number one on your list of things to do when you get one of the aforementioned emails. Some of these journals have reputable looking sites, especially when you look at the editorial board listings. Sometimes a quick Google search can come up with reports from other researchers who have blogged about their own experiences. Don't forget the University Libraries has resources to assist you! Check the Ulrichsweb.com and Cabell's directories accessed through the A-Z Databases at http://libresources.wichita.edu/az.php.  Ulrichsweb.com lists and provides publisher information on more than 300,000 journals and where they are indexed.  The Cabell’s journal directories are divided into various academic disciplines and provide journal quality metrics for covered titles.

2. Be wary of email solicitations. While editors do occasionally send invitations for articles to potential authors, it is still wise to do your research. This is especially true if the title of the publication is generic, if you are unfamiliar with a title, or if the publication isn't even related to your field. Be sure to independently verify the submission process. There are unfortunately some disreputable "editors" who will use the title of a long established publication to obtain materials. This not only has the potential to damage the reputation of the original publication, but the author’s reputation as well.

3. Investigate the editorial list. It can be very convincing if they include faculty portraits, accurate titles, and contact information. Select a few members of the editorial team and email them. If the individual gets back to you claiming to know nothing of the journal, let alone if they are not on the editorial board, do not pursue this journal.
4. Get in touch with a librarian. We can be a great resource for you if you need help identifying predatory journals.

For predatory journals in the news, check out the following articles:

Predatory journal hires a fake editor: http://www.nature.com/news/predatory-journals-recruit-fake-editor-1.21662

A researcher, tired of the emails, uses Seinfeld as an inspiration in publishing with a predatory journal: http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/49071/title/Opinion--Why-I-Published-in-a-Predatory-Journal/ and http://retractionwatch.com/2017/04/06/hello-newman-yet-another-sting-pranks-a-predatory-journal-seinfeld-style/

Beall's List of Predatory Publishers, a highly popular list of questionable journals, was unexpectedly shut down in January 2017, but an archived list exists here: https://clinicallibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/01/23/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers/.