On the lookout for predators
By Dr Meg Polacsek, AAG Communications, Advocacy and Grants Manager
Familiar to most of us, the phrase ‘publish or perish’ was initially coined in 1932 by Archibald Cary Coolidge, an American educator and diplomat.[1] Coolidge was a professor of history at Harvard College and, in 1910 until his death, was first director of the Harvard University Library. The context for his pithy observation is unknown.
Some 90 years later, the pressure remains to publish our work at a pace that is hard to maintain. The demand for faster and greater knowledge has given rise to several ethical dilemmas (a euphemistic statement, considering ample evidence of rampant academic misconduct in publishing).
A significant dilemma relates to the explosion of journals, including the ‘genre’ of predatory journals which publish items of questionable quality and integrity. Some have no review process at all. Ironically, the fee for publication in these ‘pay to publish’ journals is often hidden deep within their websites.
The rapid cycle of online publishing has created a deluge of information that cannot be absorbed with the careful thought it deserves. At the same time, ever more publishing models require payment by the authors, in order to provide free global access to readers. However, as many of us know, predatory publishers use deceptive methods to exploit open access publishing for their own profit (a model we could cynically call ‘pay or perish’).
It is unsurprising that the pressure to publish also affects the quality of the work, with authors left scrambling for content, rather than planning and pursuing a meaningful agenda of information gathering and dissemination.
The pressure to publish also affects authorship and author order. The main issues concern honorary and ghost authorship, authorship versus acknowledgement, confusion about collaboration, author order, students as co-authors and equal author credit. Wherever possible, authors should follow guidelines such as those of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. However, guidelines are not rules per se and may have little influence on ethical practice.
But what about the ‘present or perish’ scenario? Presenting at a conference can be a career highlight. Submission and acceptance of abstracts are usually tightly regulated. However, the growing underbelly of predatory conferences is a big business set up to scam people out of registration and publishing fees. And they’re harder to spot than you’d think. They have slick websites, boast a selection of respected speakers and high-profile sponsors, and take place at reputable venues.
An international trade group (legitimate!) for the meetings industry suggests that ‘tens of thousands of terrible quality and sometimes fraudulent conferences are today being promoted around the world.’[2] And before you think it couldn’t happen to you, be warned that it’s usually smart, resourceful people who are caught up in their web. At the very least, before you click the ‘submit’ button:
- Research the organisation that’s hosting the event
- Check that the event url is an extension of the organiser’s main site
- Consider if the sponsors are related to the topic
- Ask the organisers about the peer review process
- Use a conference checker (like Think.Check.Attend)
And then, all going well, enjoy yourself!
[1] Coolidge HJ (ed). United States: Books for Libraries; 1932. Archibald Cary Coolidge: Life and Letters; p. 308. [2] https://www.iccaworld.org/
This blog is also available as a pdf.