Beall’s lists are not without limitations, however it is widely used in empirical research on predatory publishing to identify potential, possible, or probable predatory journals and publishers – including articles in Science.
It is recommended to read the available reviews, assessments and descriptions provided there, and then decide for yourselves whether to submit articles, serve as editors or on editorial boards. The criteria for determining predatory publishers are here. Hopefully, tenure and promotion committees will also be able to decide for themselves how importantly or not to rate articles published in these journals in the context of their own institutional standards.
Two open science platforms: Frontiers and Figshare are doing their part in the fight against the virus.
“The Frontiers community is mobilizing to help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, Frontiers have launched our Coronavirus Knowledge Hub – here you will find the outputs of several new initiatives intended to coordinate and support the efforts of our community, as we confront the public-health, economic and societal effects of the rapidly spreading disease.
As part of this initiative, Frontiers is assembling many of the world’s leading coronavirus scientists and epidemiologists to participate in the Research Topic: ‘Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Pathophysiology, Epidemiology, Clinical Management and Public Health Response’. This article collection will highlight how interdisciplinary research can provide insights into the COVID-19 epidemic, addressing knowledge gaps and generating evidence for its improved management and control.
Frontiers has also waived Article Processing Charges (APCs) and established a priority peer-review process for manuscripts submitted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will further help ensure robust scientific research becomes openly available as soon as possible, for other researchers to build on and to enable evidence-based decision-making for public authorities worldwide.
As we pull together as a community – calmly, responsibly, and resolutely – during this COVID-19 outbreak, Frontiers is keen to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to send your ideas for new research directions, stakeholder engagement and initiatives around coronavirus and the current global health crisis. Making science open has never been more essential to global well-being and Frontiers thank you for your contribution and dedication”
Figshare is also committed to continuing to provide a platform to share the latest research on an international scale. As such, Figshare will continue to supply and maintain our normal service during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are also in a unique position to help the research community during this time so the team has been working on some new initiatives to aid the rapid dissemination of research in any form, be it preprints, datasets, presentations, or software. The significance of sharing research is vitally important, now more than ever, which is why we want to help in any way we can. To allow researchers to publish any COVID-19 related research, we’re launching a free portal at https://COVID19.figshare.com/.
All researchers will need to do is create an account on Figshare and upload content with COVID-19 as one of the keywords on their metadata form and we’ll pull it into the COVID-19 Open Research Portal.
Please note, if your institution uses Figshare as a data or institutional repository, please continue to use that platform to store and share your COVID-19 research. COVID-19 research stored in institutional Figshare platforms will also be aggregated into https://COVID19.figshare.com.
The beauty of life, the beauty of helping each other, especially in difficult times, find your smile when you are about to cry.
A poem by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, 1979.
We plant a seed that will one day grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
Mental illness and even suicides affect the general research community, not just academics, but also senior and early career researchers. Could we do better to prevent this? For instance, by trying to reduce the pressures that can cause emotional and mental issues (Fig. 1). As a better practice than penalties a posterior like this measure.
Why have not things changed despite the warnings in the last 20 years? What can we do to get politicians into action? What can be done? go on strike? even if it is only for one day?
In case you would like to start helping the conservation of nature and improving our quality of life, see some simple advice (David Suzuki Foundation):
It was launched a free online e-learning resource Looking after your self-ie. The e-learning resource aims to help all social media users build a meaningful, more balanced relationship with platforms where use is conscious and mindful, and the user is in control.
The programme explores a range of different issues including social media’s impact on loneliness, relationships, self-image, self-esteem, sleep, online trolling and bullying. They are also encouraging all users to share photos of themselves participating in acts of self-care with the hashtag #LookingAfterYourSelfie
When looking for a conference or for a journal to submit your research, be aware of these predatory conferences and journals. Publishing with them is both economic and scientific fraud.
“Junior academic faculty are particularly focused on opportunities to publish, given the importance tied to their promotion. They may, therefore, be most susceptible to academic spam emails (ASEs) from predatory publishers, which contain unsolicited requests for publishing manuscripts, presentations at organisation meetings and memberships on editorial boards. There have been documented instances of accepting flawed manuscripts or fake editorial board members” (Wilkinson et al, 2019)
You can contribute the name of a predatory journal or publisher, either by either email them, send them a tweet, or create an issue or pull request for the data files on GitHub. Be sure to include evidence of predatory behavior. They will investigate submissions to verify them, but more information helps them to verify more quickly.
Dear Reader, As we reach the final issue of European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics for 2019, we wish to reflect on another successful year’s … We would like to thank the following individuals who acted as reviewers for European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics in the past 12 months… (https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs13318-019-00586-4.pdf)
The aim is to present fun, interesting and relevant talks and activities based on the latest science research in an accessible format to the public, in a pub setting. For that, researchers prepare fun and engaging talks and demonstrations aimed at a non-specialist, general public audience and based on their real research.
