What publishing in a predatory journal costs the author

Publishing in a predatory journal can look like a shortcut, but it costs the author, whether or not the author knew what the journal was. The author can lose the work, the money, the chance to publish the paper in a genuine journal, a reputation that follows a career, and control over the author's own name, which the publisher can use for marketing or keep on its editorial board.

The credibility of the work

Without the scrutiny of proper peer review, good, mediocre and bad science cannot be told apart. ^{1, 2} Good science published in a predatory journal becomes contaminated and devalued, and loses its credibility because of the context in which it is placed. ^{1, 2} Its appearance in such a journal raises the questions of whether the article was published there because it did not meet the standards of a genuine journal, and whether its authors' priority was speed of publication rather than scientific integrity. ^{1, 2} Those who publish good research in predatory journals unintentionally upgrade the bad and false science also published there. ^{1, 3}

Getting the paper back

Predatory journals pose a serious threat to researchers publishing the results of their work. ^{4, 5} Submitting a publication to a predatory journal risks losing the data and the publication. ⁶ Authors cannot rely in any way on predatory publishers. ^{1, 3} Authors may find themselves trapped after they realise they have submitted an article to a predatory journal. ^{4, 5} There is a potential risk that some journals might not return a submitted manuscript, or will publish it even after the author has protested. ^{4, 7}

An author who has submitted a manuscript to a predatory journal and later wants to withdraw it will often not succeed, because the journal may want to upgrade its reputation by keeping it. ^{1, 3} For an author who submitted by accident, withdrawal is often not possible, or is allowed only after paying an additional fee. ^{1, 3} When authors realise they are dealing with a predatory journal and wish to retract the article, the journal will usually charge a retraction fee. ⁸ An author refused withdrawal has essentially lost the chance to publish in a genuine journal, because doing so would be a second publication of the same content. ^{1, 3}

Withdrawing a paper from a predatory journal did not end the matter for one medical writing agency's client. ⁹ The agency advised the client to withdraw because the journal's website had given misleading information about its impact factor, and less than seven hours after the withdrawal notice the journal demanded a withdrawal fee of more than 1,300 euros. ⁹ Asked for advice, EMWA's president said not to pay. ⁹ The editorial office then claimed that the impact factor was indeed below 0.5, much lower than the one its website showed, but that it would rise above 2 by the end of the year. ⁹ The client still refused to pay. ⁹ After a while the journal reduced the fee considerably. ⁹ When the agency described the episode, the client was still refusing to pay, the discussion was ongoing, and the journal's latest reminder concerned the reduced fee. ⁹ The whole episode was quite stressful for the agency. ⁹

Whether the paper stays available

It is important for authors that their research is permanently available to the scientific community. ^{1, 3} If a predatory publisher goes out of business, the articles it published may no longer be available. ^{1, 3} There have also been cases of articles republished under different author names and with slightly different titles, without the original authors' consent, to enlarge a publisher's article database. ^{1, 3}

The time and money spent

Authors who publish their research in a predatory journal waste the time, effort and money spent conducting it, and the public or third-party funds spent on it are no longer available for genuine research. ^{1, 3} Authors who knew the journal was predatory and published there anyway may even be liable to prosecution, for using funds on dubious journals and for spending on travel to the scientifically worthless conferences that some predatory publishers offer. ^{1, 3} Research that appears in a journal without scientific value ultimately becomes worthless to its authors and to the scientific community. ^{1, 3}

The author's reputation

Researchers who publish in predatory journals risk their reputations and careers, and the reputations of their institutes, even when they do not realise what they are doing. ^{10, 3, 4, 5} An author's reputation is endangered by publishing in a journal that lacks peer review, is not indexed or publishes bad science. ¹¹ Researchers who did not know the journal was predatory expose their ignorance and naivety, and those who used it knowingly might be accused of deliberate deception. ^{10, 3} Some researchers who want to publish irrelevant or inconclusive results to advance their careers are tempted by the chance to publish anything in a predatory journal, and doing so carries some long-term risks. ^{1, 2} By using predatory journals, serious scientists bring themselves down to the level of researchers of dubious reputation, wannabe scientists, conspiracy theorists and lobbyists. ^{1, 10, 3}

Researchers should not count on their articles in predatory journals disappearing from the internet at some point. ^{10, 3} Throughout their career they will carry the stigma of having used such an outlet, and even years later commonly used search engines can find references to articles published in predatory journals. ^{10, 3}

The author's name in the publisher's hands

Predatory publishers use the names of well-known scientists for their marketing, which makes them appear genuine and obscures their business model. ^{1, 3} Predatory journals may use the names of genuine healthcare professionals on their editorial boards without their knowledge or consent. ^{10, 8} A few journals even list respected professionals as board members who never agreed to it and discovered it only when a fellow researcher contacted them. ⁸ An author's reputation can be damaged by being unknowingly appointed to a predatory journal's editorial board. ^{4, 5}

Some academics report that they have found it very difficult, sometimes impossible, to be removed from the editorial board of a journal that appears to print anything for a fee once they have mistakenly agreed to join it. ¹² A plant pathologist who accepted an invitation to the editorial board of Plant Pathology and Microbiology found himself listed as an organiser and speaker on a website advertising the Entomology-2013 conference, which the journal's publisher was also organising. ¹² It took many weeks for the publisher to comply with his request to be removed from the website and the editorial board. ¹²

The consequences for an individual researcher

Publishing in a predatory journal has these potential consequences for an individual researcher: ^{1, 3}

• the work appears in a questionable environment, next to mediocre, bad or even fake science
• the researcher's name and affiliations may be used for advertising by the publisher without the researcher's knowledge or consent
• the researcher's name is permanently linked with the publisher and its website, which may harm their academic career
• there is no assurance that the article is permanently archived, traceable or accessible
• the paper is not included in reputable databases, because some of them actively remove references to articles in predatory journals
• the researcher cannot stop the publisher reusing the article to enlarge its database or for advertising
• the researcher may have to pay further fees, particularly to withdraw the manuscript
• public and third-party funds are wasted, resulting in potential liability
• rights may be hard to enforce, because such publishers hide their location to avoid legal action, and even when the location is known, most fall under a jurisdiction other than the author's, which complicates legal action

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