The following is a partial repost from Gary Smith's commentary on the bad aspects of academic publishing (which are many). Please read it here.
Last time, we examined how scientific publication has ceased to be a good measure of scientific accomplishment because it has now become a target, following Goodhart’s Law. In today’s post, we will continue that examination by turning to the peer review system, and how that system is being gamed by unscrupulous publishers and researchers alike.
In theory, the peer review process is intended to ensure that research papers do not get published unless impartial experts in the field deem them worthy of publication. Peer review is well-intentioned, but flawed in many ways.
From the journal’s perspective, academic journals can be a cash cow since authors and reviewers are not paid anything and universities feel obligated to subscribe. In 2012 Harvard University reported that some journals were charging its library $40,000 annually and that its total annual cost of journal subscriptions was an “untenable” $3.5 million. In 2019, after lengthy negotiations, the University of California stopped its Elsevier subscriptions which were costing $10 million annually.
However, as the open-access model gained traction, unscrupulous publishers moved in to exploit authors fighting the publish-or-perish battle. Pretty much anyone who has published an article anywhere regularly receives invitations to submit papers for fast review and publication in a predatory journal.
The journal names sound legitimate; indeed, they are often variations on the names of bona fide journals. The Journal of Economics and Finance is a legitimate journal; the International Journal of Economics and Finance is not. Journal of Banking and Finance is legitimate; Journal of Economics and Banking is not. Advances in Mathematics is legitimate; International Journal of Advances in Mathematics is not.
The invitations often flatter the recipient, give phony journal impact factors, and promise a fast review process. The last claim is real. There is typically little, if any, review. The only criterion for publication is a willingness to pay the open-access charge. The e-mail invitations are often marred by unusual grammar and flawed interpretations of published work.
Even more worrisome, this is a journal hijacking, which is another arrow in the quiver of nefarious tricks used by predatory journals. There is a legitimate journal titled Frontiers in Life Science, but this is not it. More than 100 examples have now been documented of bogus journals creating fake websites that mimic the websites of authentic journals. When a duped researcher “submits” a paper to the imposter journal, it is accepted with minimal fuss and the author is directed to send a publication fee to the huckster.
Unfortunately, it has become a two-way street. Unscrupulous journals exploit researchers and unscrupulous researchers exploit journals.
In 2014 the esteemed journal Nature published an article titled, “Publishing: The peer-review scam.” It recounted the story of Hyung-In Moon, a South Korean medicinal-plant researcher. He had submitted an article to a journal that invites authors to suggest possible reviewers. In this case, the editor’s suspicions were aroused when it took less than 24 hours for favorable reviews to come in. The editor questioned Moon and he admitted that the reviews took very little time because he had written them himself! It turned out that this was a common practice for Moon. When he suggested reviewers, he used a mix of real and phony names and his own disguised e-mail accounts. A total of 28 papers were subsequently retracted.
One experienced editor, Robert Lindsay, says that he has seen authors recommend not only close friends, but family members and students they are supervising. One brazen researcher recommended herself, using her maiden name. Some technically savvy researchers have hacked into editors’ accounts and sent review invitations to bogus email addresses controlled by the author.
Next: A further examination of the undermining of scientific publication using two examples – SCIgen and citation counts.
You may also wish to read the first in this three-part series:
Publish or Perish – Another Example of Goodhart’s Law. In becoming a target, publication has ceased to be a good measure. Researchers game the system to beat the publish-or-perish culture, which undermines the usefulness of publication and citation counts. (Gary Smith)
Also:
Why It’s So Hard To Reform Peer Review. Here is a historical summary focused specifically on the measures by which professors are promoted and get raises, which illustrates that Goodhart’s and Campbell’s laws are parasites on promotion and tenure metrics. (Robert J. Marks)
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