Marketing via Email Solicitation by Predatory (and Legitimate) Journals: An Evaluation of Quality, Frequency and Relevance

Burggren, Warren W.; Madasu, Dilip K.; Hawkins, Kevin; Halbert, Martin

doi:10.7710/2162-3309.2246

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…As such, the commitment by big publishers including The Lancet and Cell Press in 2020 to share research data and findings relevant to the novel coronavirus has demonstrated the value of open access (Tavernier, 2020). However, researchers need to be careful in their quest to use and publish in open access platforms as there is a growing influx of predatory journals with qestionable practices and dubious quality (Ayeni & Adetoro, 2017;Burggren, Madasu, Hawkins, & Halbert, 2018;Frederick, 2020;Zhao, 2014). Researchers have to constantly sieve disinformation and misinformation in research results relating to the COVID-19 pandemic (Baines & Elliott, 2020), which are usually spread through platforms that are open and easily accessible to the public.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Library Services Provision in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Ayeni

Agbaje

Tippler

2021

EBLIP

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Objective – Libraries have had to temporarily shut their doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the provision of online and remote services. This review analyzed services offered by libraries, the technological tools used, and the challenges facing libraries during the pandemic. Methods – This study employed a systematic literature review, following the PRISMA checklist (Moher at al., 2009). The Building Blocks search strategy was employed to search for keywords of concepts in Library and Information Science Abstract (LISA), Library and Information Science Technology Abstract (LISTA), Library Science Database, Web of Science (WoS) core collections, and Google Scholar. A set of inclusion and exclusion criteria was pre-determined by the authors prior to database searching. Quality assessment of included studies was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (Hong et al., 2018). A tabular approach was used to provide a summary of each article allowing the synthesis of results, which led to the identification of eight broad categories of services provided by libraries in included studies. Results – The first set of searches from the 5 databases produced 3,499 results. After we removed duplicates and applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria based on titles and abstracts, 37 potentially relevant articles were identified. Further screening of the full-text led to the final inclusion of 23 articles used for the qualitative synthesis. The majority of the studies were conducted in the United States of America (n= 6, 26.1%), followed by India (n=4, 17%), and China (n=2, 8.7%). The remaining studies were carried out in United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, Romania, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. The most common method used in selected studies was the case study (n= 11, 48%), followed by survey (n=7, 30.4%), content analysis (n=4, 17.4%), and mixed methods (n=1, 4.3%). The majority of the studies were carried out in academic libraries (74%), while the rest were based on medical, public, and special libraries. Findings show that the majority of academic libraries in the included studies are providing and expanding access to electronic resources (n=16, 69.6%) and increasing open access resources and services (n=11, 47.8%). More so, most academic libraries are assisting in virtual education and teaching endeavors of faculty and students (n=13, 56.5%). In addition, some medical and public libraries are bolstering public health safety through health literacy (n=12, 52.2%), supporting research efforts, and engaging in virtual reference services, among others. In order to carry out these services, libraries are harnessing several educational, social networking, communication, and makerspaces technologies. Most of the libraries in the included studies reported budgetary challenges, and the need for new ICT infrastructure and Internet service as they move their services online. Conclusion – This review found that libraries are adapting in a number of ways to continue their roles in meeting patrons’ needs in spite of the growing challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown. For libraries to thrive in these trying times, there must be a well-structured approach to ensuring continuity of services. Libraries should prioritize the acquisition of electronic resources as well as increase their efforts to digitize resources that are only available in printed copies. As library services have predominantly shifted online, there should be concerted effort and support from government and funding agencies to equip libraries with the technological facilities needed to provide cutting-edge services. The quality assessment of the included studies shows that there is need for rigor and transparency in the methodological description of studies investigating library services provision in a pandemic. This review provides an overview of the ways libraries have responded to the challenges posed by a global pandemic, and hence will be of use and interest to all librarians especially those in health and academic sectors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Library Services Provision in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Ayeni

Agbaje

Tippler

2021

EBLIP

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“…In the above-described context, the preparation of authors, especially those who are in the early stages of their career as researchers, is critical. Senior faculty members play a key role in advising their younger and unexperienced colleagues on the publishing process (Burggren et al, 2018;Liyanapathirana, 2019;Watson, 2019). Furthermore, contrary to what could be expected, it may happen that many university students, even at the graduate level, are not very familiar or particularly concerned with these quality issues of scientific publication (Liyanapathirana, 2019;Santos & Serpa, 2017).…”

Section: Preparation Of the Authorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that the assessment of scientific production in the country defines the allocation of financial resources, these assessment criteria are widely used by researchers in the search for better scores and, hence, higher funding. Burggren et al (2018) advocate that, instead of using complex metrics, evaluation committees, whether for merit, promotion or tenure, should base their assessments on the quality of the work published, as well as the quality of the journal itself. This would lead to a redefinition in terms of the choice of the journals to publish in on the part of academics (Shaghaei et al, 2018;Teixeira da Silva & Tsigaris, 2018;Cress & Sarwer, 2019;Severin & Low, 2019).…”

Section: Institutional Preventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Publishing at Any Cost? The Need for the Improvement of the Quality of Scholarly Publications

Sá¹,

Ferreira²,

Santos³

et al. 2020

IJHE

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At a time of great dynamism among publishers of scientific publications, with the inevitability of Open Access and the ease of publishing online at low cost, it is possible to find publications with different levels of scientific respectability. In this context, the improvement of the quality of scholarly publications emerges as a critical element for publishers, authors and academic institutions, as well as for society in general. This opinion piece discusses Open Access journals with different levels of quality, focusing on the following quality-promoting measures: blacklists, author’s preparation, and institutional prevention. The analysis allows concluding that the open review will be one of the key elements in the process of clarification and promotion of the level of quality and consequent scientific respectability of each of the Journals, of the thousands currently existing, a number that is likely to increase.

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Techniques predatory journals use to solicit manuscripts: a contrast between Africa (lower- income countries) and Canada (high income country)

Rafiq

Ashaba

Wechuli

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Predatory journals charge authors for publication without quality peer review or editorial services. They target researchers not only in high-(HIC) but also in lower income countries (LIC). The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of predatory journals and their recruitment techniques aimed at researchers in LIC and HIC. Methods Four clinician researchers, two in lower income countries (Kenya and Uganda) and two in a high-income country (Canada), identified and collected unsolicited emails from suspected predatory journals over a six-month period in 2019; 50 randomly selected emails from researchers in Canada and 50 from African researchers. These were assessed for similarities and differences using a set of criteria derived from the literature on predatory publishing. Findings: Features common to both the LIC and HIC groups included requesting email not website manuscript submission and claiming a very rapid processing timeline. In comparison to the HIC group, emails from the LIC group were significantly more likely to have impersonal greetings, poor integrity, request an urgent reply, and request an email back to unsubscribe from further emails. The websites of journals targeting LIC researchers were significantly more likely to use language that overly flattered authors and lacked a description of the peer review process. HIC target emails were more likely to be from journals out of scope of the authors’ work. Interpretation: We identified similarities and differences between LIC and HIC predatory journal submission request emails and their websites. Being aware of these different approaches may help authors better avoid predatory publishing in future.

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Marketing via Email Solicitation by Predatory (and Legitimate) Journals: An Evaluation of Quality, Frequency and Relevance

Abstract: This article underwent fully-anonymous peer review in accordance with JLSC's peer review policy.

Cited by 3 publications

References 51 publications

A Systematic Review of Library Services Provision in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

A Systematic Review of Library Services Provision in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Publishing at Any Cost? The Need for the Improvement of the Quality of Scholarly Publications

Techniques predatory journals use to solicit manuscripts: a contrast between Africa (lower- income countries) and Canada (high income country)

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