Update: Avoiding Probable Predators
Greetings again. And to those observing Lunar New Year, let me wish you an excellent Year of the Rooster.
Previously, we’ve discussed avoiding predatory journals and conferences. As noted, predatory journals charge authors publication fees but do not behave as valid publications. Similarly, predatory conferences take registration fees but provide little or nothing in return.
Until recently, a major resource to help identify predatory journals and conferences was the website Scholarly Open Access, from librarian Jeffrey Beall. This site included, among other things, a list of journal publishers that seemed likely to be predatory.
Earlier this month, however, the site was discontinued, and its content was made unavailable. The reason for this change was not announced. Articles on this event have appeared in Nature, Science, STAT, and other publications.
Fortunately, there are other sources of guidance on avoiding predatory journals and conferences. If you’re trying to determine whether a journal or conference is valid, consider doing one or more of the following:
- Follow the advice at Think. Check. Submit.
- Consult the infographic “Phony vs Legit” (available on pages 4 and 5 of a newsletter issue).
- Look at the section Predatory Publishers on the University of the Witwatersrand library website.
- In “What Is a Predatory Conference?” (from the International Family Nursing Association), see the list of signs that a conference might be predatory.
- Ask one or more colleagues who are knowledgeable about such matters.
- Pose a question in the AuthorAID discussion list.
- Consult an AuthorAID mentor.
For more on avoiding predatory journals and conferences, please be watching the AuthorAID website. For example, see the new post by Siân Harris on choosing a journal. And watch soon for a post by Andy Nobes on avoiding predatory conferences.
Until later—
Barbara