Beware of scientific scams! Hints to avoid predatory publishing in biological journals

Author(s):Show less -

Pereira, Cassio Cardoso ; Mello, Marco A. R. ; Negreiros, Daniel ; Figueiredo, Joao Carlos Gomes ; Kenedy-Siqueira, Walisson ; Maia, Lara Ribeiro ; Fernandes, Stephannie ; Fernandes, Gabriela Franca Carneiro ; de Leon, Amanda Ponce ; Ashworth, Lorena ; Oki, Yumi ; de Castro, Gislene Carvalho ; Aguilar, Ramiro ; Fearnside, Philip M. ; Fernandes, G. Wilson

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NEOTROPICAL BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION; v. 18, n. 2, p. 9-pg., 2023-01-01.

Abstract

Our motivation for writing this editorial is to alert the academic community about the risks of predatory publishing in Biology. By piggy-backing on the open access (OA) movement and taking advantage of the "publish or perish" culture in a system that prioritises quantity over quality, predatory publishing has grown exponentially in recent years and spread across all areas of knowledge. Thousands of predatory journals and books have emerged and (provided a fee is paid) they publish scientific papers and chapters without submitting them to rigorous peer review. Now there are even predatory meetings, which promise to accept talks and publish complete works for a fee, also without reviewing them properly. These profit-making machines can damage both academia and society, putting at risk the quality of science and public trust in it, the well-being of the population, the conservation of biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change. We show the modus operandi behind invitations to contribute to predatory journals, books and meetings and suggest ways to separate the wheat from the chaff. Finally, we discuss the need to create regulatory agencies that perform a careful and systematic evaluation of the activities carried out by publishers. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 23/02881-6 - International School and Conference on Network Science (NetSci 2023)
• Grantee: Marco Aurelio Ribeiro de Mello
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Meeting - Abroad
• FAPESP's process: 18/20695-7 - A synthesis of the assembly rules of complex ecological systems
• Grantee: Marco Aurelio Ribeiro de Mello
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 20/08916-8 - Prediction of forest degradation as a subsidy for mitigating actions to preventing fires and wildfires
• Grantee: Liana Oighenstein Anderson
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants