Scrutinizing predator journals in pharmacology and calculating their predatory rate.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:As the list of predatory journals is burgeoning, the researchers should have knowledge of calculating the predatory rate (PR) for the journals, in which they aim to publish their work and self-guard them from publishing in bogus journals.AIM AND OBJECTIVES:Our aim is to find out the predatory rate for various Pharmacology journals.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Here, we have examined the recently updated list (in 2017) of standalone predatory journals created and maintained by Beall, pertinent to all auspices of pharmacology including pharmacy, pharmaceutical, and pharmacognosy. The PR of various journals was calculated.RESULTS:Of 131 journals, pertinent to the pharmacology field, 45.03% of them had the PR between 0.72 and 0.84. 98.5% of journals were classified as predatory, whereas only 2 (1.53%) journals were classified in the category of predatory practice.CONCLUSION:It should be an eye-opener to the researchers, and they should deliberately select the journals to get real recognition of their work.