Are You Aware of How Many Predatory Journals Exist?

[Buzz Bloom]

I just came across this website and thought it might be of interest to the PF participants.

https://beallslist.weebly.com/

The following describes what it is all about.

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/hea...ific-journals?s=EFA_180728_AA1&st=email&ap=ed

 

[fresh_42]

And here: Canada is the new India

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...rnals-published-hundreds-claim-to-be-canadian

 

[StatGuy2000]

And here: Canada is the new India

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...rnals-published-hundreds-claim-to-be-canadian

It's worth pointing out that of the list of so-called "Canadian" publications, most are not actually Canadian at all, in terms of content, authors, editorial board, or even the location of their offices.

For example, according to the Ottawa Citizen article, with quotes below:

"
But how Canadian are these sites, underneath their red maple leaves and photos of Justin Trudeau?

Behind the Canadian names, there’s not much Canadian content and headquarters are often in India. The Canadian Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences is typical, with authors from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, but not Canada. Its current issue is an assortment of topics from turtles to acoustics to malaria to fungus in the walls of a museum — generally useless to busy scientists who want focused journals in the fields where they work."

 

[fresh_42]

It's worth pointing out that of the list of so-called "Canadian" publications, most are not actually Canadian at all

One was actually from Toronto "sharing an address with Goodlife Fitness".

 

[StatGuy2000]

One was actually from Toronto "sharing an address with Goodlife Fitness".

Well, I did say "most", not "all".

BTW, here is another article regarding predatory publishing and how Canadian research may be falling prey to it.

http://healthydebate.ca/2017/01/topic/canadian-research-falling-prey-predatory-journals

 

[fresh_42]

Well, I did say "most", not "all".

My comment wasn't meant as a criticism, rather a reminder that even an IP address isn't a reliable marker these days.

 

[jtbell]

Note that Beall took his original list down, officially for "personal reasons", but likely connected with legal challenges against him and the University of Colorado.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Beall#Website_removal

 

[Buzz Bloom]

likely connected with legal challenges against him and the University of Colorado.

Hi jtbell:

Thanks for your link to the Wikipedia article.

I do not disagree with your conclusion that the legal challenges might well have played some role in the removal of Beall's list from the university site, but I think saying that it was the "likely" reason is not quite justified from what I read in the Wikipedia article. I tend to believe the statement summarizing Beall's reason:

Beall later wrote that he had taken down his blog because of pressure from the University of Colorado, which threatened his job security.​

Wikipedia cites the following for this summary.

Beall, Jeffrey (September 2009). "Bentham Open". The Charleston Advisor. 11 (1): 29–32.​

I tried to get access to read the above, but apparently The Charleston Advisor requires a subscription to access a reprint.

If what you intended to convey was that the University of Colorado yielded to the threat of lawsuits, and then they pressured Beall, I think you might have phrased your statement more clearly.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[jtbell]

If what you intended to convey was that the University of Colorado yielded to the threat of lawsuits, and then they pressured Beall, I think you might have phrased your statement more clearly.

Yes, that would be a more accurate description, and I apologize for my sloppy language.

 

[pinball1970]

I do not publish but I read articles and I was not aware of this.

I just thought some journals had more clout than others, I found this https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03759-y

And this https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6591679/ (8000 active predatory journals in 2014? Wow!)

I found those links because of statements about Sciencealert. then found this thread on pf. Post here rather than TIL