Predatory journals | Gdańsk University of Technology

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Predatory journals

This is an unethical business model of some scientific publishers. In this type of publishing house the process of reviewing articles is only simulated, because they usually publish all submitted and paid works. These publishers put their own profit above the ethics of scientific research and the rules of publishing results, which is why they most often publish articles for a fee in the so-called "Gold Open Access".

There are a number of indicators that characterize predatory journals. For example, they often contain false information about the editorial team, the review process or citation rates. The titles are similar to those used by recognized scientific journals or even impersonate them. Submitted articles are very quickly (often within less than a month) accepted for publication from the moment the manuscript is sent, without any comments from the reviewer. The occurrence of one of these elements does not make the journal predatory, but if several conditions are met, scientists should reconsider the place of publication of their article.

Predatory magazines are a deliberate business model, not the sometimes low standards or pseudoscience, because publishers here use the idea of open access for the unethical purpose of profiting from unreliable publishing practices. Predatory magazines are eager to use the slogan of open access to illusorily increase the cost of publication. It is precisely because of the possibility of obtaining a quick profit in the form of APC (Article Processing Charge) fees that predatory magazines are focused on publishing as many articles as possible in the shortest possible time - the review process, and often also an ordinary correction, practically does not exist with such procedures. This state of affairs is conducive to the spread of harmful pseudoscientific works that have not passed a thorough reviewing process.