Some open-access publishers
publish papers without peer review to make easy money. Some publishers publish
articles in their journals within one or two days after submission, provided
publication charge is paid. Jeffrey Beall, the Denver-based former librarian,
first coined the term “predatory publishing” in 2011, to identify such
predatory journals. But at the later stage, his methodology to identify
predatory journals was questioned. Many academicians proved that Beall's
evaluation was biased and erroneous. But nobody can deny the contribution
of Mr. Beall to identify the black side of open access scholarly
publication.
A normal Google search will
reveal lots of websites giving some lists of so-called predatory publishers.
But there is no validity and authenticity of such unofficial websites. Reasons
are given below.
A] The above-mentioned websites
are not real and authorized or endorsed by any Govt or International
organizations or scholarly societies. There may be hundreds of similar
websites. Developing such websites may cost only a few hundred dollars. Nobody
knows about the real owners of those websites. These websites are not
officially affiliated with any famous academic society or association.
B] The official list of
predatory open-access journals was created and developed by Prof. Jeffrey Beall
of Colorado University. He developed his famous Beall's list. But due to
several court cases and due to several legal orders and other related issues he
finally closed his website and deleted his list in 2017 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_publishing). In fact, in 2017, he also lost his job at
Colorado University.
C] From 2017, there is NO
OFFICIAL list of Predatory Open Access journals approved by any Government
organization or International organizations or scholarly societies. All the
fake websites with the name of predatory journals are not approved.
Therefore there is no validity
and authenticity of such unofficial websites.
‘Sciencedomain International’
(SDI) has fought against predatory publication practices for many years.
‘Sciencedomain International’ is also a victim of the predatory publication
model. Many times ‘Sciencedomain International’ was labelled with a “predatory”
stamp, as Sciencedomain also follows an open access publication model.
Confusion and mixing the name of ‘Sciencedomain International’ with low-quality
predatory publishers harmed the brand image of ‘Sciencedomain International’ in
many ways.
Therefore Sciencedomain
International took some proactive steps to fight against the predatory
publication problem starting from 2011. Some distinguished operating principles
of ‘Sciencedomain International’ are discussed below and the backgrounds of
these steps are also discussed.
Problem 1: Predatory publishers
don’t do peer review.
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
1.1 OPEN Peer review:
‘Sciencedomain International’
journals follow a transparent and robust OPEN peer review model. All peer
review reports, comments of the editors and different versions of the
manuscripts are also made publicly posted along with the published paper. This
process eradicates any possibility of malicious interference by the publisher
to publish papers only for money, by compromising academic quality. The main
complaint against predatory publishers is that anybody can publish anything by
paying hefty money. And predatory publishers compromise the peer review process
or don't do peer review to publish any paper. As ‘Sciencedomain International’
journals follow a transparent OPEN peer review model, so the main criteria of
predatory publishing (i.e. absence of peer-review and quality
control) cannot be applied against ‘Sciencedomain International’.
Very politely we want to tell that our peer review system is not perfect. But
we strongly want to say that we don't follow the predatory publication model.
1.2 World Famous Springer Nature journal report confirmed high
standard of our journals
But to establish the claim of a
publisher, it must be authenticated by some third-party neutral
agency. As per a recent paper published
in a Springer Nature journal, we (SDI) received a high rank among the topmost
Global Publishers to adopt modern transparent OPEN peer-review process
(Details: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-020-03488-4).
1.3 World famous Science journal
report confirmed high standard of our journals
World famous Science Journal
article authenticated high peer review standard of SDI journal
Now it is obvious that all
publishers will highlight its brighter sides. But to establish the claim of a
publisher, it must be authenticated by some third-party neutral agency. Please
see that our claim of the high standard of peer review is authenticated by the
world-famous Science journal article. Please see the investigative
report here ( https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.2013.342.6154.342_60).
It was reported that out of
total 304 journals, only 20 journals rejected the fake article after
substantial peer review. We are happy that our journal was among these few
successful journals along with industry leaders like PLoS One, Springer, BMC,
MDPI, Hindawi, etc.
1.4 Recently another Springer
report also recognized the quality of Sciencedomain journals. Cabells’
Directory also reported Sciencedomain International as Non-predatory. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12109-022-09888-z) and
(https://www.graham-kendall.com/papers/ks2022a.pdf)
Problem 2: Predatory publishers
don’t pay any attention to complaints after publication
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
2.1 POST-publication peer
review:
The pre-publication Peer review
evaluation system is not perfect and many academicians proved loop-holes of the
peer review system. We also never claimed that the peer review system is
perfect. But we have tried to make it as transparent as possible. But still, we
know that there will be errors. So we introduced also POST-publication peer
review system. SDI journal Websites provide the ability for users to
comment on articles to facilitate community evaluation and discourse around
published articles. The comment section is mainly dedicated
to promote "Post-publication peer review". As a
result of this "Post-publication peer review", if authors agree
and/or journal Editors agree (and/or SDI agrees) that any correction is
necessary, then it will be published FREE of cost by following SDI Correction
and Retraction policy (https://peerreviewcentral.com/page/correction-and-retraction-policy).
2.2 Established Retraction
Policy:
No journal in the world has a
hundred percent perfect peer review policy. It is not expected from
the publisher that it should work like fraud detection agency or fake paper
detection agency. No publisher has that capacity or enough resources for such
activities. An academic publisher is expected to arrange honest peer review,
editorial screening, editing, formatting, publication, DOI registration,
digital preservation of papers, indexing of published papers, etc. An academic
publisher depends on the integrity of the author for the submitted paper and
expertise of reviewers and editors during the peer review process. At any
stage, an academic publisher should never influence the publication decision by
over-ruling the academic independence of the reviewers and editors. Therefore,
a scholarly publisher is never expected to publish only a hundred percent perfect
papers, as it depends on the author-reviewer-editor system. But an academic
publisher is always expected to work promptly whenever fraud/wrongdoing is
reported. If an academic publisher sits idle when an irreparable wrongdoing is
reported then the publisher is just supporting the wrongdoing of the author.
Such careless idle steps of the publisher rather encourage other dishonest
authors to harbour their papers with that publisher. Predatory publishers often
sit idly by publishing fake papers and invite other dishonest authors to
publish their papers by providing a safe shelter in exchange for publication
charges. It is expected that a true academic publisher should officially
retract wrong papers/fake papers immediately whenever reported. Retraction is a
negative point for any publisher, but a true academic publisher should never be
afraid to retract such papers with official retraction notice. Sciencedomain
International has a very strong and official correction/retraction policy (see
here: https://peerreviewcentral.com/page/correction-and-retraction-policy). Sciencedomain International is determined to
promote integrity in research publication. We have great respect and we
generally follow the guidelines given by COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION ETHICS (COPE)
for any publication disputes, authorship disputes, fake paper, etc. Whenever
such a serious problem is reported, Sciencedomain International takes immediate
action and officially retract the paper.
Problem 3: Predatory publishers
use the name of the reputed scientists without consent and sometimes they don’t
do quality control during the recruitment of editors.
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
3.1 Transparent Editorial Board:
All SDI journals have a
transparent editorial board. Many times, predatory journals post the name of
editors without their consent. Sometimes predatory journals publish fictitious
editors. All SDI journals publish complete academic affiliation of all editors.
Additionally, SDI journals publish email ID, short biography and link of the
institutional webpage of editors for complete transparency. All communications
with the editors are also permanently digitally preserved by SDI. Along with
the published paper, identity and comments of the academic editor are also
published. Therefore, very politely we want to say that we may not have the
strongest editors of the world, but we have a highly transparent and active
editorial board to maintain the quality of the journal.
3.2 World famous Nature journal
report confirmed the high standard of SDI editors and journals
Now it is necessary to provide
proof of the high standard of editors of SDI journals. We hereby provide the
proof from an article of world-famous NATURE journal article. One of our
journals was also targeted by the authors of this NATURE article as part of the
sting operation. We are happy to inform you that the Nature (Impact
Factor: 41.6) article confirmed the high standard of SDI journal and its
editors. Please, read the investigative report here (https://www.nature.com/articles/543481a).
Problem 4: Predatory publishers claim
false indexing status, show false impact factor, highlight Thomson Reuters
Researcher ID as proof of indexing in ISI, etc.
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
4.1 Transparent Indexing information: A dedicated indexing team
of Sciencedomain International is working to include all of our
journals in reputed indexing services or journal evaluation services or
catalogue or reference citations, etc. Sciencedomain International also
advises that authors should cross-check the authenticity of claims of indexing
before submitting their manuscripts to any publisher (including SDI). SDI
strongly encourages authors to take 'informed decision' before submission of
any manuscript. In order to help the authors to take 'informed decision', SDI
is providing web-links/proofs beside most of the claims of indexing or journal
evaluation services. In addition, authors should visit the official site of the
indexing organization or journal evaluation services before submitting any
manuscript. We have never applied to have a false impact factor (like global
impact factor, etc) for our journals and we never display false impact factors
of journals to cheat the authors. We hope the scholarly community will appreciate
our efforts to maintain integrity and transparency.
Problem 5: Predatory publishers
don’t provide clear information regarding publication charges. They never
provide information related to publication charge before or just after
submission. They start demanding money after the publication.
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
5.1 Transparent Publication
Charge: At Sciencedomain
International, we clearly and publicly provide all information regarding
publication charge in the journal website. Publication charge related all clear
information is prior provided to all authors. There is strictly No hidden
charge.
Problem 6: Predatory publishers
don’t provide clear information regarding the place of Head-Quarters of the
publisher and actual place of operation. They also don’t reveal the name of the
publisher.
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
6.1 Publicly available
Headquarters address: Sciencedomain
International clearly displays information regarding registered address and
Head-Quarters in the contact page. Sciencedomain International also provides
the name of the publisher and contact details.
Problem 7: Predatory publishers
don’t provide attention to the satisfaction of authors. Actually, they harass
the authors in different stages of publication. They are also not transparent
regarding customer satisfaction.
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
7.1 Direct posting of author
feedback: At Sciencedomain
International, we believe that quality peer review should attract
appreciation from all authors, irrespective of the nature of the review
decision (i.e. Acceptance or Rejection). Testimonials of the authors are
presented publicly on our website. From 06-04-2016, Sciencedomain
has provided direct comment posting feature in the website. Authors, who
want to share their experience directly, can use this feature. We welcome any
kind of feedback (positive or negative). Apart from this direct experience
sharing facility, authors can also share their experience via email, which will
be posted by our IT staff. We are proud to say that we take the satisfaction of
authors very seriously. This may be the reason for our lowest possible “Credit
Card Charge reversal and Dispute” cases against us (in some calendar years we
have zero such cases).
Problem 8: Predatory publishers
don’t provide attention to the satisfaction of reviewers and never maintain transparency
(if they do peer review)
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
8.1 Transparent information and
recognition of reviewers: We follow the best
possible industry standard for reviewer satisfaction. In all published papers,
we publish the name of the reviewers and also publicly publish the review
reports along with published papers. We also publicly publish the list of
reviewers yearly once. Famous Publons (a part of Thomson Reuters Clarivate Analytics),
also confirmed the high standard and transparency of the peer review system of
SDI journals. There are more than 40,000 academic journals worldwide. As per
Publons website, 6 journals from ‘Sciencedomain International’ were placed
among top 1000 journals and 38 journals from ‘Sciencedomain
International’ were placed among top 3000 journals like Nature, Science,
PlosOne, BMJ, etc.
Problem 9: Predatory publishers
are less attentive regarding plagiarism checking, formatting, etc
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
9.1 Established Plagiarism
Policy: SCIENCEDOMAIN international strongly
opposes the practice of duplicate publication or any type of
plagiarism. SCIENCEDOMAIN international aims to publish
original high-quality research work. Plagiarized manuscripts would not be
considered for publication. If plagiarism is found in any published paper after
an internal investigation and subsequently the paper will be retracted. Plagiarism
policy of this journal is mainly inspired by the plagiarism policy of The Nature.
Problem 10: Predatory publishers
falsely claim attachment with famous academic institutions like the publication
of research papers from reputed universities, etc
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
10.1 High Profile authors: High standard of SDI journals has attracted
authors from world famous universities like Harvard
University, Columbia University, Cambridge University,
University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, Göttingen University,
etc. We are thankful to authors for keeping faith in our transparent high
standard peer review process, high editorial standard, etc. Sciencedomain
publishes a list of authors, who have published at least one paper in any SDI
journal. A hyperlink of the published paper has been provided with the name of
the author(s) for verification. This list is partial.
Problem 11: Predatory publishers
don’t provide attention for permanent digital archiving of published papers
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
11.1 Permanent digital
preservation policy: Sciencedomain International is happy to announce that
all our journals are now permanently archived in Journal
Repository (JR).
Problem 12: Predatory publishers
don’t provide attention to follow “Principles of Transparency and Best Practice
in Scholarly Publishing”, introduced by OASPA, COPE, DOAJ and WAME
Following Proactive Steps were
taken by Sciencedomain International to solve this problem.
12.1 Self-compliance report
publication: Excellent guidelines regarding ‘Principles of
Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing’ have been
established by the Committee on Publication Ethics, the Directory
of Open Access Journals, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association and the World Association of Medical
Editors. We sincerely thank
OASPA-DOAJ-COPE-WAME for this great effort. Sciencedomain International feels
that we must follow these guidelines and should publicly publish a
‘self-compliance report’ for public and scholarly scrutiny. We’ll heartily
welcome any valuable feedback to improve our journal.
We have provided some information and facts. We know that
researchers/scientists always love to depend on their own logical reasoning and
analytical power based on facts and proof. We believe that the
information provided above will help the academicians to make informed
decisions.
with regards,
Dr MB Mondal
Publisher and Director
