COMMERCIALISATION, PROTECTIONISM, ELITISM AND PREJUDICE

Unfortunately protectionism, prejudice and elitism have become the survival focus and method for some traditional and long standing publishers and academic databases.

The author pay system while resisted by most reputable publishers for a long while has become one of the few means that reputable publishers have had to cover costs, especially for those publishers who won't or don't take advertising on websites or paper publications. Perhaps those not charging processing fees have become more prone to outside influence and commercial pursuits because of this.

Once many medical colleges and scientific societies subsidised or published their own journals, but soaring costs have largely now prevented this. They now resort to commercial academic publishers but they expect their journals to be included in the major established academic databases accordingly. From what can seem to be protectionism, prejudice, commercialism, elitism or poor processes on behalf of some databases, such outside parties are too often refused access or inclusion on prejudicial criteria while at the same time the databases still claim to be academic, global and representative of all quality material published.

In the case of third world countries, places where medicine for example is practised where modern drugs or diagnostic equipment are not necessarily available, articles catering to their specific needs and suiting those conditions should be as worthy as those on more expensive so called modern medicine, but rarely do such appear in the journals of major commercial publishers. This suggests elitism in evaluative criteria. On whose criteria is a paper from a multinational drug company's latest trials of a slightly new formula of say, a cardiovascular drug formulated solely to qualify for a new commercially protective patent, deemed more important than a case study on a rare complaint that only affects some children in an underdeveloped and impoverished African country? In a world where there is a great divide between the richest and the poorest, academic publishing can often exacerbate the effects of poverty, inequality and deprivation.

Issues of protectionism have not only led to predatory and scam publishing on the one hand they
have also caused the rise of new scholar and academic self-archiving databases. While these entities have universal access they do not tend to follow formal academic standards and requirements such as peer review. While they may assist in egalitarianism some listed articles may not meet the definition of the term 'scholarly'; rather they may also contribute to legitimisation of substandard work and scam publishing. All of this has led to a degree of bankruptcy in what was once a reputable system, which could essentially be relied upon.

It has however also caused the rise of new reputable journals (usually open access) with their aims or the necessity, to bypass these protectionist systems and databases where country of origin seems to be more important than content. Protectionism may be destroying the very publications they set out to protect. Freer access provided for reliable publishers and authors among their competitors could have saved the industry of academic publishing. Holding onto market share can often seem their main criteria.

A commercial entity need not support the products of another organisation, commercial or philanthropic, but nor should they then claim to be representative of all meaningful academic publishing and research in their sector.

Where is the justification for outdated criteria and processes that are not born of the modern world and the world of ready communications for all? All medical articles needing to be in English may be a practical and expedient measure, but it is hardly fair practice. It can rightly be seen as elitist, and prejudicial.

If authors are to be kept at the mercy of outdated practises and some prejudicial databases maybe the entire process needs to be reviewed. Otherwise it will increasingly fall into the hands of the disreputable; the rot is often within the decaying establishment and the protectionist trying to maintain their advantage.

If papers are self-archived on online databases that offer no review of content and process we find ourselves not really able to trust any part of the system even if such self-archived articles are of high quality. Do we just abandon the system or do we look for a new non time-consuming, reliable formula or grading system that can be applied across the board to all academic research and publications without fear or favour and preferably without additional cost, to allow the reader to pre-judge the value of the article.

Currently, a researcher has to search a number of databases, often user-pay databases, to ensure adequate coverage of knowledge on a topic. Once humanity advanced on the back of the thinking and endeavours of all humans but now it seems the commercial world has to some degree devalued this age old egalitarianism and means of general advancement.

SCAM AND PREDATORY PUBLISHERS

Ethical publishers and authors are increasingly having their journals scoured by parasitical and predatory organisations masquerading as publishers, purely to exploit the authors or the publishers themselves. They are just another example of the disreputable elements that swarm over the internet looking to make 'quick money', from what can be a well disguised unethical process to blatant outright theft. In doing so they harm all parties concerned; the authors who believe they are having their work issued in what seems to be a reputable and read academic journal, to the ethical and professional publishers who invest time, money and reputation into their literary products. They also harm scientific societies and organizations plus the progress of science itself by wasting effort and money into which the various parties involved have invested to produce their manuscript (2).
While the intent of these scams is always the same, the modus operandi can vary.

Some scam or predatory publishers may approach a published author and ask them to 'sign a contract', to produce a certain number of articles. Eventually the authors realise they are working with frauds and try to withdraw from these contracts, or find they do not have the time to meet their demands. Then such authors find themselves threatened with implied legal action causing both personal distress and professional embarrassment in front of their peers and fellows or academic institutions. Such authors find these contracts are cleverly worded and always falling on the side of the fraudulent organisation.

We distinguish between scam or sham publishers, where there is no intent or effort to publish any such journal or magazine they have described to authors, and predatory publishers who will issue the work but without the necessary professional, review, copyright or other due diligence employed by reputable publishers. Let it fall on the heads of the authors if they have inadvertently slandered, plagiarised, or even accidentally typed an extra zero on some vital medical or scientific algorithm.

A further method is inviting authors to write for what seems to be a fit and proper publication with no mention at all that there is a fee involved until the author has committed and or approved and even signed a copyright release form. Again they can be personally or legally threatened until they part with their money.

With the proliferation of material on the internet it is difficult for the average person, particularly the young starting out in their careers, to distinguish between long established or authoritative organisations and those with flashy websites and many buzz words but no substance or integrity. Indeed there seems to be a deliberate targeting of the young author, the author who does not speak English as a first language, those authors not acquainted with acceptable cultures of publishing and those authors who may be naive or unaware of their legal rights (2).

Sometimes these publications name distinguished professors, scientists or practitioners as a member of their editorial board without seeking their permission. Conversely they may also ask less reputable or less knowledgeable colleagues to pay to appear on their Editorial and other Boards. Presumably the purchasers of these positions buy the 'implication that they are experts in their field' and are, for their fee, complicit in assisting to mislead naive authors as to the standard and standing of the journal.

A reputable publisher usually has a reasonably long track record and their journals have the same.
A reputable publisher issues under International Copyright law and has an ISSN (for print and or online). Copyright Law protects authors just as much as publishers, and disallows any further use misuse or 'selective use' of the authors' material without their written consent and knowledge.
A reputable publisher usually has their own or accepted database distribution channels and contributes author's work to various academic indexes.

Predatory and scam publishers often state that they will publish an article in a very short period of time. This obviously suggests to the wary author that they do not go through a rigid review process. While it may seem flattering why would a major publisher approach an author when in reality they should have more submissions than they can publish? Authors should be even more wary if such publisher suggests their manuscript will be approved prior to sighting it.

Authors should check the displayed Author information carefully and completely. Messages the predatory publisher may not wish authors to notice are usually at the very end of Instructions to Authors, for example, any hidden fees.

Check the quality of the language on the website of the publisher approaching you. It should be both perfect in grammar and language and be of high academic standard in content.

Read the fine print of any offers and if unsure, obtain legal or professional advice.

Check if the publication has an Editorial Board of reputable members. Contact one of those people if you wish to check. Disreputable publishers have been known to list names and reviewers that may have not agreed to appear on those boards, or who may even be fictional.

Scam or predatory publishers can often select a journal or publication title that is similar or even identical to a reputable publisher.

There are worthy academic websites around that peers and colleagues recommend you consult. A well recommended website is that of Jeffrey Beall, Associate Professor Scholarly Communications Librarian, Auraria Library, University of Colorado, and Denver, USA.

Professor Beall advises "The world of scholarly publishing has changed greatly in the past ten years. In the past, researchers generally did not have to pay to publish, and most journals were high quality and respected. Now with the advent of open-access journals, authors - rather than libraries - are the ones financing scholarly publishing, through payments charged to them upon acceptance of their articles for publication in open-access journals. This change has led to the appearance of many fake journals and publishers, and they exist only to earn as much money from authors as possible. These "predatory publishers" do little or no peer review and quickly accept most or all submissions, sending a bill to the author. I am the author of a blog that lists many of these predatory publishers. You'll find the blog, Scholarly Open Access, located at: http://scholarlyoa.com. The lists serve as blacklists, and my recommendation is that researchers avoid submitting their work to all the journals from all the publishers on the publisher list, and all the journals on the standalone journal list."

Or you can simply type in the Publisher's or Organisation's name and the word fraud or scam beside it in your search engine and if they are not reputable a string of angry correspondence will usually appear.

If you do come across a sham or predatory publisher let your peers and colleagues know about them, whether you are a student or an academic.

Young postgraduate students or the novice author unsure about a particular publisher should ask a librarian or academic supervisors or advisors.

Most scams can be avoided with a little common sense and a little general research.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Academia as a whole needs to look at these issues and find a cost effective means of both protecting the quality and standards of research, universities, academics and students and their various publications in a globally friendly system that ensures quality and integrity. This is still the case in many countries, however the rot is setting in and more than ever vigilance needs to be maintained.

It is also up to governments, those that can afford to, to fund quality education but within an egalitarian approach and with proper integrity, standards, balances and checks.

A standard universal grading system for all academic publications, along the lines of a quick electronic checklist may help alleviate some of the problems for authors and readers alike.

Taking a further step back from this, what is the reason for listing the world's research and academic endeavour and do we need for it to be guaranteed as reliable? If human society is to advance at all in a fair and proper way and overcome the many current impediments to pursuit of excellence, social justice, and parity and not fall into the general decay we see around us, it is vital.