Re:Predatory journals entrap unsuspecting scientists
by jfengel on Tuesday August 15, 2023 @02:47PM
(#37137699)
The difference is that new journals are seeking readers, while predatory journals seek only writers.
A genuine new journal is created by experts in the field, for the purpose of communicating between each other. A predatory journal is created by publishers, with minimal expertise in the field (often none).
If nobody is reading the journal, then it exists solely for the purpose of gathering fees in exchange for the ability to put it on your CV.
The limiting factor for a new journal is who is interested in reading it. That happens when a new field opens up (or more often, when some sub-field becomes active enough that the contributors find it useful to carve it out).
There is also a need for new kinds of journals, to manage the workload of knowing what things people should read. There are a lot of experiments going on there, trying to solve the mismatch between the sheer amount of work being done and the limited time for keeping up. But the predatory journals don't care if anybody is reading them at all.
A genuine new journal is created by experts in the field, for the purpose of communicating between each other. A predatory journal is created by publishers, with minimal expertise in the field (often none).
If nobody is reading the journal, then it exists solely for the purpose of gathering fees in exchange for the ability to put it on your CV.
The limiting factor for a new journal is who is interested in reading it. That happens when a new field opens up (or more often, when some sub-field becomes active enough that the contributors find it useful to carve it out).
There is also a need for new kinds of journals, to manage the workload of knowing what things people should read. There are a lot of experiments going on there, trying to solve the mismatch between the sheer amount of work being done and the limited time for keeping up. But the predatory journals don't care if anybody is reading them at all.