Even science and academia are not spared the bite of predators

I read with a lot of interest an article by Duncan Omanga in the Daily Nation of Tuesday May 3, 2016, in which he advanced that the past stringent procedures for the appointment of university professors in Kenya have been flouted in many cases in recent times, leading to the appointment of people who do not merit the title, those he referred to as “careerists”.

What caught my eye was his reference to the alleged presentation of research publications that are of questionable quality by the said “careerists” in an effort to advance themselves.

I would like to look at the flip side in relation to scientific publication — the issue of publication of credible and good science in not-so-good scientific journals.

If you are a scientist or in academia, you must have received them — the flurry of emails asking you to send your manuscript to this and that scientific journal for rapid publication, open access, and the many other enticements that we scientists like to hear.

Welcome to the rapidly growing but suspect mode of publishing that now even has a name coined for it: predatory publishing. And one of the hallmarks of such publishing is the wide solicitation for manuscripts. Predatory publishing is defined as the emerging trend by an increasing number of publishers whose interest are the fees that they charge without providing quality peer review or editorial services that would be expected of respectable publishers.

The quick turn-around time that such publishers offer is particularly attractive to students who must publish their research before they are awarded either their masters or doctor of philosophy degrees.

Moreover, publishing in scientific journals of high repute is often not a walk in the park, particularly for upcoming scientists without proper academic mentors. In science and academia, publishing is one of the key measures of one’s productivity.

The high value placed on publication of one’s research is because it puts the findings in the public domain and the scientific community can utilise the knowledge in future inquiry for the advancement of science and enhancement of the quality of life.

COMPARING QUALITY

Yet the raw number of articles that one has authored or co-authored is not the only factor to consider. By international standards, the systems of determining level of productivity based on publication are more elaborate and include factors such as how many times one’s publications have been cited by others. The goal of such systems is to come up with quantitative methods of evaluating and comparing quality.

A widely used metric is the h-index, which is a composite score that attempts to measure the productivity of individuals both in terms of the number of publications and the citation impact. The higher the value, the better.

Publishing in reputable journals that are widely read and cited increases the visibility of one’s work. Thus, the journal impact factor, which is a measure of the frequency with which the average article in a particular journal is cited, is something to bear in mind. So the next time you are considering where to submit your research article for publication, be reminded of this.

Predatory publications may have a quick turn-around time, but are they really worth it in the long run? Will your work be widely read so as to impact science? Will it be widely cited to impact your career advancement? Think about it.

And how do we recognise predatory publishers? One of the leading authorities on the subject is Prof Jeffrey Beall of the University of Colorado, Denver, who also coined the term “predatory publishing”. Each year, Prof Beall publishes the list of predatory journals and the criteria for recognising them. This list is freely available online, alongside a blog where predatory publishing and related issues are discussed. Other online resources on how to avoid predatory publishing exist.

Dr Kamau is chief research officer, Kenya Medical Research Institute. [email protected]