Predatory journals: defined, at last!

It’s official! After 12 hours of discussion, 18 questions and 3 rounds, leading scholars and publishers from ten countries have agreed a definition of predatory publishing. Here it goes:

  “Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices.” (Grudniewicz et al., 2019)

Are you publishing in a “predatory journal”?!

Reference:

Grudniewicz, A., Moher, D., Cobey, K. D., Bryson, G. L., Cukier, S., Allen, K., … Lalu, M. M. (2019). Predatory journals: No definition, no defence. Nature, 576(7786), 210–212. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03759-y

How to get published in an academic journal: top tips from editors

Journal editors share their advice on how to structure a paper, write a cover letter – and deal with awkward feedback from reviewers.

Read the full article on the Guardian site at http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/03/how-to-get-published-in-an-academic-journal-top-tips-from-editors

Publication Ethics: where do we stand?!

Ever thought of ‘ethics’ in publishing?!

Have you come across or been a part of the scenario where a junior researcher does much of the work, but is deprived of getting his name included in a publication?! Or, a research supervisor or department head insisting that his/her name be included in a publication without contributing anything to it?!

Yes! many of us do encounter such situations.  What is Publication Ethics? Do we have it or lack it? What constitutes authorship?

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) brings forth a discussion document on What constitutes authorship?

Get it at http://publicationethics.org/files/Authorship_DiscussionDocument.pdf