Keep calm and carry on: moral panic, predatory publishers, peer review, and the emperor’s new clothes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The moral panic over the impact of so-called predatory publishers continues unabated. It is important, however, to resist the urge to simply join in this crusade without pausing to examine the assumptions upon which such concerns are based. It is often assumed that established journals are almost sacrosanct, and that their quality, secured by peer review, is established. It is also routinely presumed that such journals are immune to the lure of easy money in return for publication. Rather than looking at the deficits that may be apparent in the practices and products of predatory publishers, this commentary invites you to explore the weaknesses that have been exposed in traditional academic journals but are seldom discussed in the context of predatory publishing. The inherent message for health and medical services staff, researchers, academics, and students is, as always, to critically evaluate all sources of information, whatever their provenance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)233-239
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of the Medical Library Association
Volume110
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Elsevier
  • academic journals
  • academic quality
  • peer review
  • predatory publishing
  • scientific misconduct

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