The New York Times published an article entitled: "Many Academics Are Eager to Publish in Worthless Journals ", written by the jornalist Gina Kolata, who approaches the classic problem of Publish or Perish, which is so often the dilemma of the researchers.
Competition is fierce to get published in leading journals. But what about the overworked professors at less prestigious schools and community colleges, without big grants and state-of-the-art labs? How do they get ahead?
As it turns out, many of their articles are appearing in "journals" that will publish almost anything, for fees that can range into the hundreds of dollars per paper. These publications often are called predatory journals, on the assumption that well-meaning academics are duped into working with them - tricked by flattering emails from the journals inviting them to submit a paper or fooled by a name that sounded like a journal they knew.
It is partially possible to agree with the author, since it is good to remember that "free lunch does not exist". REM has adopted a publishing fee, but only for approved articles, along with various processes once the article is received: beginning with a rapid revision of the English to make sure that the article is understandable, followed by distribution to various associated editors in Brazil and other foreign countries for unidentified scientific revision, etc. Furthermore, the rejection of an article with no onus to the authors, and the processing expenses are assumed by the magazine.
The article by Gina Kolata also states: "When hundreds of thousands of publications appear in predatory journals, it stretches credulity to believe all the authors and universities they work for are victims," Derek Pyne, an economics professor at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, wrote in a op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen, a Canadian newspaper.
The number of such journals has exploded to more than 10,000 in recent years, with nearly as many predatory as legitimate ones. "Predatory publishing is becoming an organized industry," wrote one group of critics in a paper in Nature.
All of this shows that at the beginning of REM's 82nd anniversary, it is possible to perceive that there is still a long road ahead and many obstacles to overcome for the disclosure of scientific finds. However, it is good to remember that the actual cost of the printed magazine will certainly make online publication more attractive, including for magazines of great scientific credibility.
PS: I recommend reading the referred to article written by Gina Kolata.
In English: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/science/predatory-journals-academics.html
In Portuguese: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ciencia/2017/10/1931826-para-inflar-curriculos-pesquisadores-publicam-em-revistas-caca-niqueis.shtml
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
Jan-Mar 2018
