{"id":3983,"date":"2022-04-20T10:36:43","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T08:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.centre-mersenne.org\/predatory-publishers\/"},"modified":"2023-02-21T15:20:32","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T14:20:32","slug":"predatory-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centre-mersenne.org\/en\/predatory-publishers\/","title":{"rendered":"Predatory publishers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. What is a predatory publisher?<\/h2>\n\n
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A predatory publisher presents itself as a scientific publisher but its objective is purely commercial. In December 2019, Agnes Grudniewicz et al. published this definition<\/a> in the journal Nature <\/em>: “Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and\/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices”.“Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritise self-interest over scholarship and are characterised by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and\/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices” (translation Herv\u00e9 Maisonneuve, blog Revues & int\u00e9grit\u00e9<\/a>, post of 16\/12\/2019<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Questionable publishers <\/h3>\n\n

Questionable publishers<\/h4>\n\n

What student has never received a message emphasising the fundamental interest of their research accompanied by a tempting publication offer? These are print-on-demand companies offering an exclusive contract to publish a scientific production online. Although they are not, strictly speaking, predatory publishers, their practices are nevertheless questionable: signing of exclusive contracts with authors, remuneration of authors from a certain number of sales, no editorial work, payment in vouchers on the publisher’s website, no peer review, etc.<\/p>\n\n

The grey zone<\/h4>\n\n

Some publishers, such as MDPI or Frontiers, are considered “grey<\/a>“: they meet both the criteria of trusted and predatory publishers. With predatory publishers, they share a high acceptance rate for articles, short publication deadlines, etc. However, like trusted publishers, they are members of COPE<\/a> and OASPA<\/a> and are present in the DOAJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

For more information:https:\/\/ist.blogs.inrae.fr\/questionreponses\/2020\/05\/27\/publier-ou-ne-pas-publier-dans-les-editeurs-de-la-zone-grise-comme-mdpi-ou-frontiers\/<\/a>https:\/\/www.unige.ch\/biblio\/fr\/openaccess\/editeurs-predateurs\/<\/a>https:\/\/www5.bibl.ulaval.ca\/services\/redaction-et-citation\/redaction-de-memoires-et-de-theses\/mise-en-garde-editions-universitaires-europeennes-et-presses-academiques-francophones<\/a>https:\/\/ist.blogs.inrae.fr\/questionreponses\/2019\/03\/19\/editeur-mdpi\/<\/a>https:\/\/www.redactionmedicale.fr\/2021\/11\/fortement-recommande-eviter-les-revues-du-groupe-mdpi<\/a><\/p>\n\n

In recent years, this open access model has been hijacked by so-called “predatory” publishers: authors are asked to publish in journals in exchange for payment of publication fees. The difference lies in the treatment of publications: no peer review, false claims of non-existent scientific visibility, spam… The sole objective in this case is to make a profit. These publishers therefore do not review submissions and publish a maximum number of articles.<\/p>\n\n

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Hijacking the golden path <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The “golden route” in Open Access refers to the “author pays” model in which the author pays a publication fee in order to make his or her article accessible to all on the publisher’s website. Proposed by major scientific publishers, this model allows researchers to disseminate their research widely while benefiting from the publishing quality of a scientific journal (peer review, editorial quality, visibility, etc.).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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CC-BY Magalie Le Gall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

For more information:https:\/\/predatory-publishing.com\/<\/a>https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-03759-y<\/a>https:\/\/coop-ist.cirad.fr\/publier-et-diffuser\/eviter-les-revues-et-editeurs-predateurs\/liens-utiles<\/a>https:\/\/ist.blogs.inrae.fr\/questionreponses\/focus-sur\/les-editeurs-predateurs-le-cote-obscur-de-lopen-access\/<\/a>https:\/\/www.redactionmedicale.fr\/predateurs<\/a><\/p>\n\n

2. What are the risks of publishing in a predatory journal?<\/h2>\n\n

On the face of it, you might think that publishing in a predatory journal is not so bad: you just lose a little money… But not only that! Because they do not offer real peer review, predatory publishers publish without scientific guarantees. Thus, publishing with a predatory publisher can:<\/p>\n\n