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Author Topic:   Predatory Journals
NosyNed
Member
Posts: 8996
From: Canada
Joined: 04-04-2003


Message 1 of 18 (695611)
04-08-2013 8:44 AM


I'm guessing this belongs in "Is It Science".
For Scientists, an Exploding World of Pseudo-Academia - The New York Times
The above article discusses the problem that has sprung up along with open access journals. It seems that there are "spammers" in the science publishing business who make money by pretending to be legitimate journals or conferences and accepting anything accompanied by a hefty fee.
I'd be interested in hearing from the practicing scientists here about this issue. How can one distinguish between good and junk publications?

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AdminPhat
Inactive Member


Message 2 of 18 (695613)
04-08-2013 9:43 AM


Thread Copied from Proposed New Topics Forum
Thread copied here from the Predatory Journals thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.

  
nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 3 of 18 (695617)
04-08-2013 9:55 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by NosyNed
04-08-2013 8:44 AM


I am seeing several of these in my mailbox each week.
I just move them to the spam folder.
It's a bit puzzling that they exist, but I guess spam works on the principle that it only takes a few suckers to pay the freight.
The reputation of a journal is important. Most professionals are going to ignore fly-by-night journals. However, there are desperate people out there, crackpots and the like, who are anxious to get published. I guess some of them are about to be taken for a ride.

Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity

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jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 4 of 18 (695621)
04-08-2013 10:15 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by NosyNed
04-08-2013 8:44 AM


Easy for the authors
Looks like it would be easy for the authors to tell which was which but what about the audience?

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

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nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 5 of 18 (695979)
04-10-2013 7:09 PM


An example (email received today)
This is from an email that turned up in my mailbox today. The mail itself was html, base64 encoded. I have used "lynx" to dump it into plain text format, and removed some identifying
information (such as my email address).
email message writes:
This message was sent to [email address].Unsubscribe by clicking
[1]here.
Call For Papers
Open Journal of Discrete Mathematics
Dear [my name and title]
You are cordially invited to submit or recommend articles to the Open
Journal of Discrete Mathematics (OJDM, ISSN: 2161-7643), which is a
peer-reviewed open access journal. OJDM covers many aspects in Discrete
Mathematics and related areas. More information about the journal can
be found at: [2](web link removed).
Researchers around the world have full access to all the published
articles, and download them for free. What is more, an open access
article stands more chances to be used and cited than does one behind
subscription barriers of traditional publishing model. Therefore your
article's impact will be improved once you become an OA author.
Manuscripts should be submitted to the journal at [3]Online Submission
System. Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it will undergo
language copyediting, typesetting, and reference validation in order to
provide the highest publication quality possible. Please do not
hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
OJDM Editorial Office
Tel: 001(209)730-6998
E-mail: ojdm@scirp.org
Skype: scirp_service
LinkedIn: Louis figo
Facebook: Scirp Math-Physics
[doSaveCsdnLogAction.action?email=xxxxxxxx/]
"lynx" puts references such as "[2]" for web links, and lists the links at the end. I have removed those, so as to not give them too many web links. The name of the organization remains in the above.
I did a "whois" listing on the organization:
whois writes:
Domain ID:D152375048-LROR
Domain Name:SCIRP.ORG
Created On:12-Apr-2008 04:32:12 UTC
Last Updated On:06-Feb-2013 02:01:26 UTC
Expiration Date:12-Apr-2016 04:32:12 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Beijing Innovative Linkage Technology Ltd. (R1292-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:CT7QNTWAMS6AG6W
Registrant Name:zhou huaibei
Registrant Organization:shanghai erwanwenhuachuanbozhongxin
Registrant Street1:Chungshan North Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, Room 1121, No.
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:shanghai
Registrant State/Province:SH
Registrant Postal Code:200092
Registrant Country:CN
Registrant Phone:+86.2165979737
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+86.2165979737
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:zhouhuaibei@vip.sina.com
Admin ID:CTCOTVN4Q8HP5AU
Admin Name:zhou huaibei
Admin Organization:shanghai erwanwenhuachuanbozhongxin
Admin Street1:Chungshan North Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, Room 1121, No.
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:shanghai
Admin State/Province:SH
Admin Postal Code:200092
Admin Country:CN
Admin Phone:+86.2165979737
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+86.2165979737
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:wuhongzheng2006@yahoo.cn
Tech ID:CTW3JEUDQ69ZQIM
Tech Name:zhou huaibei
Tech Organization:shanghai erwanwenhuachuanbozhongxin
Tech Street1:Chungshan North Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, Room 1121, No.
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:shanghai
Tech State/Province:SH
Tech Postal Code:200092
Tech Country:CN
Tech Phone:+86.2165979737
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:+86.2165979737
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:wuhongzheng2006@sina.cn
Name Server:NS1.DNSV4.COM
Name Server:NS2.DNSV4.COM

Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity

Replies to this message:
 Message 6 by NoNukes, posted 04-10-2013 8:30 PM nwr has replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 6 of 18 (695985)
04-10-2013 8:30 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by nwr
04-10-2013 7:09 PM


Re: An example (email received today)
I know nothing about this topic.
However upon reading the email, the words below raised hair on the back of my neck.
quote:
What is more, an open access article stands more chances to be used and cited than does one behind subscription barriers of traditional publishing model. Therefore your article's impact will be improved once you become an OA author.
Really? Guaranteed improved impact just because of open access?

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
I would say here something that was heard from an ecclesiastic of the most eminent degree; ‘That the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how the heaven goes.’ Galileo Galilei 1615.
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. Frederick Douglass

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Replies to this message:
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nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 7 of 18 (695989)
04-10-2013 9:50 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by NoNukes
04-10-2013 8:30 PM


Re: An example (email received today)
the words below raised hair on the back of my neck
Typical snake-oil sales pitch.
There's no mention of a sponsoring professional society or university. There's no mention of an editorial board. The "whois" doesn't identify anything that looks like a professional group. An English language journal sponsored from China already looks a tad suspicious.

Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity

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NosyNed
Member
Posts: 8996
From: Canada
Joined: 04-04-2003


Message 8 of 18 (695990)
04-10-2013 10:04 PM


How to Tell?
So with this sort of thing polluting published works how does the layman tell which is which?

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Pressie
Member
Posts: 2103
From: Pretoria, SA
Joined: 06-18-2010


Message 9 of 18 (696001)
04-11-2013 12:41 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by NosyNed
04-10-2013 10:04 PM


Re: How to Tell?
nwr suggested one way (thanks nwr!).
These "journals" are "published" on the net. This makes it quite easy to look for the sponsoring professional society or university or the editorial board. If none of these is mentioned anywhere, the red lights should start flashing. If one or more of these appear, go and do some research on it.
It takes some time, but it's worth it, I guess.
Edited by Pressie, : No reason given.

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PaulK
Member
Posts: 17822
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.2


Message 10 of 18 (696005)
04-11-2013 1:37 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by Pressie
04-11-2013 12:41 AM


Re: How to Tell?
However, sometimes the "editors" are unaware of their association with the journal...

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Pressie
Member
Posts: 2103
From: Pretoria, SA
Joined: 06-18-2010


Message 11 of 18 (696009)
04-11-2013 2:50 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by PaulK
04-11-2013 1:37 AM


Re: How to Tell?
I guess we have to look at all of them. Professional association (sponsorship, etc.) and editorial board. And checked. If these are not provided, those red lights should be acompanied by a very loud siren.

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jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


(1)
Message 12 of 18 (696033)
04-11-2013 10:44 AM
Reply to: Message 11 by Pressie
04-11-2013 2:50 AM


Re: How to Tell?
Go out on the street and ask if the Institute for Creation Science is a valid Professional association.

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

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Pressie
Member
Posts: 2103
From: Pretoria, SA
Joined: 06-18-2010


Message 13 of 18 (696050)
04-11-2013 2:01 PM
Reply to: Message 12 by jar
04-11-2013 10:44 AM


Re: How to Tell?
In the streets people don't know.
I don't really think that many people on the street would even try to look at a scientific journal anyway. Lots of people on the street think that National Geographic is a scientific journal. That won't change quickly.
What matters would be the people who do know something about science. They won't be fooled that easily.
Edited by Pressie, : No reason given.

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Replies to this message:
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NosyNed
Member
Posts: 8996
From: Canada
Joined: 04-04-2003


Message 14 of 18 (696055)
04-11-2013 2:40 PM
Reply to: Message 13 by Pressie
04-11-2013 2:01 PM


Fine until...
Until the discovery institute or Institute for Creation Research start publishing their "scientific" papers in these things and we see them referenced here.
Gone until May . Off to Italy and Greece

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Pressie
Member
Posts: 2103
From: Pretoria, SA
Joined: 06-18-2010


Message 15 of 18 (696104)
04-12-2013 12:04 AM
Reply to: Message 14 by NosyNed
04-11-2013 2:40 PM


Re: Fine until...
Oh, they most definitely will. I won't be surprised if most of those 'journals' were started by creationist groups for the sole purpose of pretending that they publish 'research'
I mean, we had such an example for some time (seems like it's dead now). The 'Journal' called BIO-Complexity, basically an in-house religious tract for the DI, published by the "Biologic Institute". Boy, do they always reference that propaganda as scientific articles.
Enjoy your time in Italy and Greece. I'm jealous.

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