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#OAWeek2024: Scientific integrity at risk: A look at predatory publishing and conferences

In recent years, the option of publishing open access in specialist journals has become increasingly established. Scientific content can thus be read by all interested parties without payment barriers. This benefits the efficiency of global research, as it is possible to quickly check whether quality-checked, freely available literature is already available (Wienert 2021). “While open access publications were initially almost exclusively supported by scientific societies, universities, research institutions and individual scientists, a market for open access has increasingly developed since the turn of the millennium” (Deppe and Beucke 2017).

Community over Commercialization

The motto of Open Access Week 2024 “Community over Commercialization” emphasizes the importance of a strong scientific community that aims to promote free and transparent access to knowledge. This idea stands in stark contrast to the practices of Predatory Publishing and Predatory Conferences, which are geared towards the commercial exploitation of authors. While Open Access was originally conceived, among other things, to strengthen scientific exchange and collaboration, increasing commercialization has created a market that is predominantly aimed at maximizing profits without regard for scientific integrity.

Predatory publishing: science in the shadow of profit

Predatory publishing is a negative side effect of this development. Here, primarily young and inexperienced academics are given the impression of seriousness, while at the same time most of the quality control instruments of science are missing. A high publication fee is often demanded in advance, without appropriate consideration such as a peer review process or editing with proofreading and layout. The focus of these publishers is not on the content of the publication, but solely on profit (Ginther and Lackner 2019).

In contrast, the motto “community over commercialism” emphasizes that scientific exchange and scientific communication are in the hands of researchers and should not be primarily driven by financial interests. Predatory publishing undermines this principle by putting researchers in a position where they have to pay for inadequate or non-existent services, while science is harmed in the long term by the dissemination of pseudoscientific content.

Recent developments in Predatory Publishing

Libraries are constantly striving to counteract this practice, but the predatory system is also constantly evolving. Some current methods of predatory publishing are listed below.

For example, well-known researchers are mentioned as editors or authors of articles that were written with the help of artificial intelligence. In addition, previously published articles from quality-checked, recognized journals are republished with changed names or affiliations. The main aim here is to falsify the publication history of the journal and lend it legitimacy through the reputation of the scientists (Schmitz 2024).

Other methods include setting up new journals with titles based on established journals and copying the URL and website of reputable journals. Operators often use expired URLs to simulate a serious Internet presence of a renowned journal. Fake invoices sent by email are also a recurring problem. They purport to come from publishers to whom an article has actually recently been submitted. They refer to the submitted manuscript and request payment of publication fees (Schmitz 2024).

However, it is also important to emphasize that the scientific quality of articles published in predatory journals is not automatically low. A publication in a predatory journal can have various reasons. The supposedly reputable appearance often deliberately deceives the submitters. If the error is subsequently discovered, it is then almost impossible to retract the article. In most cases, these articles do not appear in the publication lists of the scientists concerned in order not to jeopardize their scientific reputation.

However, some researchers knowingly publish in predatory journals in order to artificially stretch their publication list or give in to the publication pressure of their discipline. In such cases, it is not uncommon for solid scientific work to have been published in the wrong place (Deinzer and Herb 2020; Schmidt 2019).

It becomes problematic when authors deliberately participate in fraudulent practices such as paper mills. In these cases, articles are created in exchange for payment. The articles contain fictitious data, plagiarism or data manipulation and are often checked by reviewers or publishers who are also involved in the fraudulent paper mill system. A certain number of citations is also often guaranteed (Schmitz 2024). Pseudoscientific articles with misleading data that can be used for marketing purposes by large companies or to form opinions in political discussions are particularly dangerous. Here, scientific studies are deliberately falsified in order to increase research output or steer opinions in a certain direction (Wienert 2021Deinzer and Herb 2020).

Predatory conferences: more appearance than reality in scientific discourse

Publications in dubious journals are not the only problem. Invitations to so-called “Predatory Conferences” are also on the increase. The titles are often generic and suggest a very broad range of topics. The participation fees are high, and organizers lure participants with alleged benefits for the participating researchers (Grebel 2021), such as the publication of conference papers in renowned journals or indexing in recognized databases. However, papers are often accepted without peer review and the conferences rarely offer added value for careers and research. Such events are usually poorly organized, participants come from many different, unrelated fields of research, and the papers or presentations are often chaotic (Ro 2024b).

Nevertheless, some researchers deliberately use these conferences to expand their CV or to combine conference trips with tourist activities. As the legitimacy of these conferences is difficult to verify in retrospect, this abuse is not directly visible for many (Grebel 2021Ro 2024b).

How to recognize Predatory Journals and Conferences?

There are now many security mechanisms, checklists and criteria that can be used to find out whether a journal or conference is reputable. The TUB regularly addresses this topic in the Collect, Write, Publish workshop series, among others. Criteria and supporting checklists are also described on the Open Access service pages. We have listed some of them below:

One of the best-known databases for (gold) open access journals is the Directory of Open Access Journals, which checks journals for quality standards. However, it is possible that newer journals in particular are not yet listed here. For a manual check, there is also the Think.Check.Submit website, which provides a list to identify reputable scientific journals.

Think Check Submit Poster
Think.Check.Submit supports the identification of reputable journals

There are similar resources for conferences, such as a checklist from Forschungszentrum Jülich (Jülich Research Center 2023) or the page Think.Check.Attend.

As a general rule, it is best to first ask your own specialist community whether anyone knows the journal or conference series. A quick online search with the conference or journal title and the addition “predatory” can also be informative (Ro 2024a). The website itself also often provides clues: Are there any noticeable spelling or grammatical errors? What is the quality of previously published conference proceedings or journals? Does the affiliation of the advertised editors and speakers match their actual research focus?

In general, attention should always be paid to the publication medium. Although scientific quality does not depend on this, authors are obliged to act in accordance with the “Statutes for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice ”. This states that researchers should check and select the publisher, organizer or repository with regard to “quality” and “visibility”.

If you are still unsure, you are welcome to contact the TUB Open Access team or search for further tips on our website.


List of references

Deinzer, Gernot; Herb, Ulrich (2020): Scheinverlage in der wissenschaftlichen Kommunikation. Verbreitung von Predatory Publishing und Lösungsansätze. In: Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie 67 (1), S. 25–37. DOI: 10.3196/186429502067147.

Deppe, Arvid; Beucke, Daniel (2017): Ursprünge und Entwicklung von Open Access. In: Konstanze Söllner und Bernhard Mittermaier (Hg.): Praxishandbuch Open Access. Berlin, Boston: Walter de Gruyter, S. 12–20, zuletzt geprüft am 10.10.2024.

Ginther, Clara; Lackner, Karin (2019): Predatory Publishing – Herausforderung für Wissenschaftler/innen und Bibliotheken. 17-32 Seiten / o-bib. Das offene Bibliotheksjournal / Herausgeber VDB, Bd. 6 Nr. 2 (2019). DOI: 10.5282/O-BIB/2019H2S17-32.

Grebel, Eva (2021): Fehlverhalten, Fälschungen, „Fake Science“. Vielfalt, fächerübergreifender Vergleich, Ursachen, Folgen und Verhinderung. Jahresbericht 2019/2020. In: Jahresbericht Formum Marsilius-Kolleg (19), S. 113–119. DOI: 10.11588/FMK.2021.0.78673.

Jülich Forschungszentrum (Hg.) (2023): Predatory Conferences. Schwarze Schafe unter wissenschaftlichen Konferenzen. Online verfügbar unter https://www.fz-juelich.de/de/zb/open-science/predatory-publishers/predatory-conferences, zuletzt aktualisiert am 17.07.2023, zuletzt geprüft am 10.10.2024.

Ro, Christine (2024a): How to spot a predatory conference, and what science needs to do about them: a guide. Researchers who have fallen prey to predatory conferences share the tell-tale signs of a dud event. In: Nature 632 (8023), S. 219–220. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-02360-2.

Ro, Christine (2024b): What is it like to attend a predatory conference? Nature sent a reporter to find out as part of an investigation into dud events. In: Nature 631 (8022), S. 921–923. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-02358-w.

Schmidt, Christian (2019): Fake Science. … und was Bibliotheken dagegen tun können 04 (71), S. 212–2015. Online verfügbar unter https://core.ac.uk/outputs/288851098/?utm_source=pdf&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=pdf-decoration-v1, zuletzt geprüft am 10.10.2024.

Schmitz, Jasmin (2024): Fehlentwicklungen im Publikationswesen. Von unseriösen Angeboten zu Verstößen gegen die gute wiss. (Publikations-)Praxis. BiblioCon 2024. PUBLISSO Publikationsberatung. BIB; VDB; K.I.T. Hamburg, 05.06.2024, zuletzt geprüft am 10.10.2024.

Wienert, Frauke (2021): Predatory Publishing und Fake Science. Eine Hausarbeit aus dem Sommersemester 2021 im Seminar „Wissenschaliches Publizieren und Open Access“. In: API 2 (2). DOI: 10.15460/apimagazin.2021.2.2.81.


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You can reach the Open Access team via mail openaccess@tuhh.de.

Please also feel free to take part in our Open Access consultation hours via Zoom (identification code: 190591) if you have questions regarding Open Access (every Friday from 10:00 am to 10:30 am).

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