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A credit-like rating system to determine the legitimacy of scientific journals and publishers

Author

Listed:
  • Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva

    (Independent Researcher)

  • Daniel J. Dunleavy

    (Florida State University)

  • Mina Moradzadeh

    (Iran University of Medical Sciences
    Kerman University of Medical Sciences)

  • Joshua Eykens

    (University of Antwerp)

Abstract

The predatory nature of a journal is in constant debate because it depends on multiple factors, which keep evolving. The classification of a journal as being predatory, or not, is no longer exclusively associated with its open access status, by inclusion or exclusion on perceived reputable academic indexes and/or on whitelists or blacklists. Inclusion in the latter may itself be determined by a host of criteria, may be riddled with type I errors (e.g., erroneous inclusion of a truly predatory journal in a whitelist) and/or type II errors (e.g., erroneous exclusion of a truly valid scholarly journal in a whitelist). While extreme cases of predatory publishing behavior may be clear cut, with true predatory journals displaying ample predatory properties, journals in non-binary grey zones of predatory criteria are difficult to classify. They may have some legitimate properties, but also some illegitimate ones. In such cases, it might be too extreme to refer to such entities as “predatory”. Simply referring to them as “potentially predatory” or “borderline predatory” also does little justice to discern a predatory entity from an unscholarly, low-quality, unprofessional, or exploitative one. Faced with the limitations caused by this gradient of predatory dimensionality, this paper introduces a novel credit-like rating system, based in part on well-known financial credit ratings companies used to assess investment risk and creditworthiness, to assess journal or publisher quality. Cognizant of the weaknesses and criticisms of these rating systems, we suggest their use as a new way to view the scholarly nature of a journal or publisher. When used as a tool to supplement, replace, or reinforce current sets of criteria used for whitelists and blacklists, this system may provide a fresh perspective to gain a better understanding of predatory publishing behavior. Our tool does not propose to offer a definitive solution to this problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva & Daniel J. Dunleavy & Mina Moradzadeh & Joshua Eykens, 2021. "A credit-like rating system to determine the legitimacy of scientific journals and publishers," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(10), pages 8589-8616, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:126:y:2021:i:10:d:10.1007_s11192-021-04118-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04118-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mina Moradzadeh & Shahram Sedghi & Sirous Panahi, 2023. "Towards a new paradigm for ‘journal quality’ criteria: a scoping review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(1), pages 279-321, January.
    2. Yuki Yamada & Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, 2022. "A psychological perspective towards understanding the objective and subjective gray zones in predatory publishing," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4075-4087, December.

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