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Is predatory publishing a real threat? Evidence from a large database study

Author

Listed:
  • Marcelo S. Perlin

    (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Administração)

  • Takeyoshi Imasato

    (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Administração)

  • Denis Borenstein

    (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Administração)

Abstract

Using a database of potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access journals, the objective of this research is to study the penetration of predatory publications in the Brazilian academic system and the profile of authors in a cross-section empirical study. Based on a massive amount of publications from Brazilian researchers of all disciplines during the 2000–2015 period, we were able to analyze the extent of predatory publications using an econometric modeling. Descriptive statistics indicate that predatory publications represent a small overall proportion, but grew exponentially in the last 5 years. Departing from prior studies, our analysis shows that experienced researchers with a high number of non-indexed publications and PhD obtained locally are more likely to publish in predatory journals. Further analysis shows that once a journal regarded as predatory is listed in the local ranking system, the Qualis, it starts to receive more publications than non-predatory ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcelo S. Perlin & Takeyoshi Imasato & Denis Borenstein, 2018. "Is predatory publishing a real threat? Evidence from a large database study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(1), pages 255-273, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2750-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2750-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frederick H. Wallace & Timothy J. Perri, 2018. "Economists behaving badly: publications in predatory journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 749-766, May.
    2. Fredrik Niclas Piro & Dag W. Aksnes & Kristoffer Rørstad, 2013. "A macro analysis of productivity differences across fields: Challenges in the measurement of scientific publishing," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 307-320, February.
    3. Jeffrey Beall, 2012. "Predatory publishers are corrupting open access," Nature, Nature, vol. 489(7415), pages 179-179, September.
    4. Perlin, Marcelo S. & Santos, André A.P. & Imasato, Takeyoshi & Borenstein, Denis & Da Silva, Sergio, 2017. "The Brazilian scientific output published in journals: A study based on a large CV database," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 18-31.
    5. Abramo, Giovanni & Cicero, Tindaro & D’Angelo, Ciriaco Andrea, 2015. "Should the research performance of scientists be distinguished by gender?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 25-38.
    6. Richard Van Noorden, 2013. "Brazilian citation scheme outed," Nature, Nature, vol. 500(7464), pages 510-511, August.
    7. Brooks, Chris & Fenton, Evelyn M. & Walker, James T., 2014. "Gender and the evaluation of research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 990-1001.
    8. Tove Faber Frandsen, 2017. "Are predatory journals undermining the credibility of science? A bibliometric analysis of citers," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(3), pages 1513-1528, December.
    9. Jingfeng Xia & Jennifer L. Harmon & Kevin G. Connolly & Ryan M. Donnelly & Mary R. Anderson & Heather A. Howard, 2015. "Who publishes in “predatory” journals?," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(7), pages 1406-1417, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Gomes Rocha & Rosimeri Ferraz Sabino & Alejandro C. Frery, 2020. "Analysis of the international impact of the Brazilian base “Qualis”-Education," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(3), pages 1949-1963, December.
    2. Kyle Siler, 2020. "Demarcating spectrums of predatory publishing: Economic and institutional sources of academic legitimacy," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 71(11), pages 1386-1401, November.
    3. Salim Moussa, 2021. "Citation contagion: a citation analysis of selected predatory marketing journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(1), pages 485-506, January.
    4. Li Yan & Wang Zhiping, 2023. "Mapping the Literature on Academic Publishing: A Bibliometric Analysis on WOS," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    5. Luciano Rossoni & Rodrigo Assunção Rosa, 2024. "Reducing the Matthew Effect on Journal Citations through an Inclusive Indexing Logic: The Brazilian Spell (Scientific Periodicals Electronic Library) Experience," Publications, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, February.
    6. Vít Macháček & Martin Srholec, 2021. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Predatory publishing in Scopus: evidence on cross-country differences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(3), pages 1897-1921, March.
    7. Philip Darbyshire & Mark Hayter & Kate Frazer & Robin Ion & Debra Jackson, 2020. "Hitting rock bottom: The descent from predatory journals and conferences to the predatory PhD," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(23-24), pages 4425-4428, December.
    8. Jonathan P. Tennant & Harry Crane & Tom Crick & Jacinto Davila & Asura Enkhbayar & Johanna Havemann & Bianca Kramer & Ryan Martin & Paola Masuzzo & Andy Nobes & Curt Rice & Bárbara Rivera-López & Tony, 2019. "Ten Hot Topics around Scholarly Publishing," Publications, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-24, May.
    9. Mauricio Marrone, 2020. "Application of entity linking to identify research fronts and trends," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(1), pages 357-379, January.
    10. Andrew Kerr & Phillip de Jager, 2021. "A Description of Predatory Publishing in South African Economics Departments," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(3), pages 439-456, September.

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