ISTOCK, EGUDINKAMore new scientific journals were launched in the last decade than the number that came into existence up until 2007. This uptick likely owes to the academic competitiveness, and hence difficulty, of publishing in conventional scientific journals as well as the ease of launching an online journal. While an increased opportunity to present one's scientific work is a positive trend to which we are not opposed, something new has emerged: pseudo-scientific journals that are launched for mere financial gain.
Not surprisingly, predatory journals have journal names that are almost indistinguishable from legitimate journals, making it very difficult to differentiate the two merely by name. For example, is the International Journal of Rheumatology a real journal, or a fake one? What about these two: Blood vs. The Journal of Blood?
For example, when a journal is willing to publish a text regardless of its contents, when a journal sends automated, computer-generated letters inviting recipients to join its editorial board, and occasionally to even serve as a guest editor, it is unlikely that the scientific community benefits. One particularly irritating spinoff from this new practice is an endless stream of spam emails soliciting scientists to contribute manuscripts in fields of science irrelevant to their work. In ...
