Some commentators argue that the economic waste of predatory publishing is a drop in the ocean compared to research waste through poor design or procurement, but this misses a vital concern: that of the inevitable and understandable lack of public trust in research and research integrity should predatory practices and poor and misleading research be allowed to flourish. [...] 1.4 The impact of predatory journals and conferences The impact of predatory practices in journals and conferences is unclear in the literature. [...] The unprecedented scope, scale and pace of research publication and research use during the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore significant failures associated with poor choice of research question, poor quality study design and conduct, and in the reporting and use of outputs to inform policy and practice increases risks to patients, wastes resources and can distort decision-making and publ. [...] Young and senior academy members and the wider research community can provide a wealth of global insight, from early career to established researchers, to gauge the prevalence and impact of predatory practices and behaviours, identify ways to curb and combat them, and serve as conduits to help raise awareness of the issue. [...] Distinctions between predatory and reputable publishing may be growing less apparent and harder to define with the growing cost of high-quality publishing, the commercialisation of academia and its outputs, and the concomitant appeal of certainty, rapidity and low barrier access that attract academics to publish in so-called predatory journals.
- Pages
- 126
- Published in
- Italy
