What is predatory publishing?
Predatory publishers publish counterfeit journals to exploit the open-access model in which the author pays. These predatory publishers are dishonest and lack transparency. They aim to dupe researchers, especially those inexperienced in scholarly communication. (Beall, 2012, Predatory publishers are corrupting open access, Nature, Vol. 489, Issue 7415)
In summary, the creation of pay-to-publish models for open access, and the pressure to publish, have created an environment where individuals and companies have created publishing ventures aiming to obtain funds from authors to produce works that are not peer reviewed and are published in “fake” journals or delivered at “fake” conferences that masquerade as scholarly publications or events but are not.
Top tips for avoiding predatory publishers
