[IRTalk] FW: ALERT: POTENTIALLY FAKE PUBLISHERS

[Leti Kleyn]

*From:* heather.thuynsma at up.ac.za <heather.thuynsma at up.ac.za> *On Behalf Of
*Humanities Spokesperson
*Sent:* Saturday, March 6, 2021 4:10 PM
*To:* hum at kendy.up.ac.za
*Subject:* ALERT: POTENTIALLY FAKE PUBLISHERS





Dear Humanities Colleagues



It seems as if predatory journals have found a new strategy to exploit
unsuspecting academics. There have, for example, been reports of scammers
developing parallel websites for accredited journals . These sites have
reproduced the relevant content and send invitations for authors to submit
articles. Here are a few journals that have been “hi-jacked” in this way:



*Preslia*

REAL: http://www.preslia.cz/
FAKE: http://presliajournal.com/index.html



*Wulfenia*

REAL: https://landesmuseum.ktn.gv.at/wulfenia
FAKE: http://www.multidisciplinarywulfenia.org/index.html



*Boreal Environment Research*

REAL: http://www.borenv.net/
FAKE: http://www.borenv.com/index.html



To help you recognise potentially fake publishers, our Faculty Librarian, Ms
Viveka Pillai <viveka.pillai at up.ac.za> has put together this quick
reference guide. We also strongly suggest that you consult the dedicated
libguide which is available here
<https://up-za.libguides.com/c.php?g=834649>.





*Characteristics of Potentially Fake Publishers:*



   - Usually online-only scholarly publishing entities with unsavoury
   intentions
   - Claim to be open access
   - Claim basic editorial services
   - They make money by collecting very low fees (article processing
   charges)
   - Open access journals that are essentially profit-making entities; they
   are not interested in disseminating high-quality research findings.



*How to spot a Potentially Fake Journal:*

   - Who is the Journal’s editor?
   - Is there an editorial body? If not, then the Journal is suspicious.
   - Does the website list the full names, affiliations and contact details
   of members of the Editorial Board?
   - Can you verify the Board members and their academic affiliations?
   - Is the Journal title unique? Or is it very similar to an already
   well-known title?
   - Does the Journal have a ridiculously broad scope?
   - Does the Journal website clearly demonstrate that it is bound to
   ethical and professional standards?
   - What impact factors does the Journal cite? If these statistics are too
   high then it is unlikely to be true.



*Be aware of:*

   - Publishers who solicit manuscripts by spamming authors with overly
   effusive and ego-stroking emails
   - Publishers with g-mail / hotmail / yahoo accounts
   - Poor grammar and syntax, many exclamation marks, brightly coloured
   fonts
   - Promises a “quick peer-review process”
   - Author fee / Article Processing Charge’s should be clearly stated and
   identifiable before you submit your article for review
   - Copyright and licensing information should be clearly described. If
   the Journal is open access then it should be protected by the Creative
   Commons license



*POTENTIALLY FAKE CONFERENCES*

   - Conferences organised by event planners
   - Appear to be academic / scholarly, but are entirely focused on making
   money
   - Conferences have similar titles to well-known and reputable academic
   conferences. In some cases, the conference title is present as the same but
   with a slight variation in punctuation
   - Often called “Global” or “International”
   - Usually offer broad topics, covering multiple fields of science

*Examples:*

   - International Conference on Life Sciences and Biological Engineering
      - International Conference on Education, Psychology and Social
      Sciences





If you have any further questions please feel free to contact Ms Viveka
Pillai or your specific Information Specialist.





*Faculty of Humanities*

*www.up.ac.za/faculty-of-humanities
<http://www.up.ac.za/faculty-of-humanities>*

*______________________________________________*

-- 
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Please refer to 
http://upnet.up.ac.za/services/it/documentation/docs/004167.pdf 
<http://upnet.up.ac.za/services/it/documentation/docs/004167.pdf> for
full 
details.
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