Why do some authors from developing countries publish papers in predatory journals? Evidence from phone interviews

Abstract

The issue of “predatory journal” has become a major concern within the academic domain. This paper outlines the underlying reasons behind publishing in predatory journals mainly by some authors from developing countries. I conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with fifty authors from six countries who have already published some of their papers in predatory journals. I recorded the whole interview and later documented those conversations. Afterward, I summarized those documented conversations and highlighted the reasons for publishing in predatory journals made by the interviewees. The major cause indicated by the authors was to mitigate faster publication requirements posed by their educational authorities. Another obvious reason they pointed was the lack of sufficient funds or budgets for conducting research projects that compelled them to publish in such low cost journals that guarantee faster publication. However, some of those authors reported that they were induced to submit papers to those predatory journals to increase the number of papers and citations that brings mental peace to them. Finally, a few interviewees reported that they opted for predatory journals for faster and easy publication as they have insufficient research capacity. I expect to have the attention of policymakers at higher educational institutions and funding agencies so that they can increase research budget and stop the authors from publishing in predatory journals.