Introduction Academic publishing has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last few decades. What was once a system largely driven by scholarly societies, university presses, and the mission of disseminating knowledge has become a multi-billion-dollar industry dominated by a handful of enormous commercial entities. This shift has not been without its profound and often negative … Read more
Introduction Welcome to the academic jungle. For years now, a particular species of profiteer has been multiplying rapidly, masquerading as legitimate scholarly communication: the predatory journals. These entities, driven by profit rather than scholarship, exploit the open access publishing model and the academic pressure to “publish or perish.” They promise rapid publication, often for a … Read more
Introduction Before the term “predatory journal” was a staple of every academic editor’s vocabulary, before university librarians whispered warnings about shady publishers charging authors for fake peer review, there was Jeffrey Beall. A quiet academic librarian from the University of Colorado Denver, Beall launched a blog that would shake the foundations of scholarly publishing. It … Read more
Introduction In the ever-expanding universe of academic publishing, predatory journals are the black holes—unseen, deceptive, and capable of sucking the legitimacy out of scholarly communication. They offer the illusion of peer review, the pretense of credibility, and the worst part? They’re multiplying like bacteria in a poorly sterilized lab. Despite years of efforts by watchdogs, … Read more
Introduction Predatory journals are the cockroaches of academic publishing. Universally condemned but remarkably resilient, they promise quick publication, fake peer review, and a smooth ride to academic legitimacy—for a fee. They’re the parasites of scholarly communication, but they’re thriving in part because the host itself is sick. Behind this plague lies a deeper, more uncomfortable … Read more