Abstract
In this article we discuss the five yearly screenings for publications in questionable journals which have been carried out in the context of the performance-based research funding model in Flanders, Belgium. The Flemish funding model expanded from 2010 onwards, with a comprehensive bibliographic database for research output in the social sciences and humanities. Along with an overview of the procedures followed during the screenings for articles in questionable journals submitted for inclusion in this database, we present a bibliographic analysis of the publications identified. First, we show how the yearly number of publications in questionable journals has evolved over the period 2003-2016. Second, we present a disciplinary classification of the identified journals. In the third part of the results section, three authorship characteristics are discussed: multi-authorship, the seniority-or experience level-of authors in general and of the first author in particular, and the relation of the disciplinary scope of the journal (cognitive classification) with the departmental affiliation of the authors (organizational classification). Our results regarding yearly rates of publications in questionable journals indicate that awareness of the risks of questionable journals does not lead to a turn away from open access in general. The number of publications in open access journals rises every year, while the number of publications in questionable journals decreases from 2012 onwards. We find further that both early career and more senior researchers publish in questionable journals. We show that the average proportion of senior authors contributing to publications in questionable journals is somewhat higher than that for publications in open access journals. In addition, this paper yields insight into the extent to which publications in questionable journals pose a threat to the public and political legitimacy of a performance-based research funding system of a western European region. We include concrete suggestions for those tasked with maintaining bibliographic databases and screening for publications in questionable journals.
Highlights
Predatory open access (POA) publishing has recently gained a lot of attention in mainstream media across the world [1, 2]
We contrast these with the yearly number of peer-reviewed publications and the number of publication in journals indexed by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
We have identified 210 POA journal articles which could be linked to 144 unique POA journals
Summary
Predatory open access (POA) publishing has recently gained a lot of attention in mainstream media across the world [1, 2]. The consortium observed that researchers from all over the world, including authors affiliated with universities in Flanders, had published in questionable journals. Research policy makers are increasingly integrating this perception in their regulations as well, e.g. in many performance-based research funding systems (PRFS) [6]. This is the case for Flanders; in order for publications to be counted in the Flemish PRFS, the criterion of verifiable peer review needs to be met [7]. We look into the yearly number of publications that appeared in POA journals We contrast these with the yearly number of peer-reviewed publications and the number of publication in journals indexed by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). We elaborate further on the short, aggregate overview given in the conference proceeding and present novel bibliographic analyses of the publications identified
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