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Wilson P. Unsolicited solicitations: identifying characteristics of unsolicited emails from potentially predatory journals and the role of librarians. J Med Libr Assoc 2022; 110:520-524. [PMID: 37101915 PMCID: PMC10124592 DOI: 10.5195/jmla.2022.1554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Email solicitations for manuscript submissions are a common tactic employed by predatory journals to attract potential victims. Both new and established researchers alike have fallen prey to this tactic, justifying the need for librarians to provide further education and support in this area. This commentary provides a succinct overview of predatory journals; briefly describes the problem of predatory journal email solicitations; explains the role librarians can play in their identification; and lists some red flags and tactics librarians can tell researchers to look out for, as informed by the literature and the author's analysis of 60 unsolicited journal emails she received in her own institutional inbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paije Wilson
- , Health Sciences Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
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Abstract
Predatory journals-also called fraudulent, deceptive, or pseudo-journals-are publications that claim to be legitimate scholarly journals but misrepresent their publishing practices. Some common forms of predatory publishing practices include falsely claiming to provide peer review, hiding information about article processing charges, misrepresenting members of the journal's editorial board, and other violations of copyright or scholarly ethics. Because of their increasing prevalence, this article aims to provide helpful information for authors on how to identify and avoid predatory journals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan A Elmore
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Pathology Branch, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Eleanor H Weston
- Vista Technology Services Inc, Contractor for the NIEHS Library, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
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McKiernan EC, Schimanski LA, Muñoz Nieves C, Matthias L, Niles MT, Alperin JP. Use of the Journal Impact Factor in academic review, promotion, and tenure evaluations. eLife 2019; 8:47338. [PMID: 31364991 PMCID: PMC6668985 DOI: 10.7554/elife.47338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyzed how often and in what ways the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is currently used in review, promotion, and tenure (RPT) documents of a representative sample of universities from the United States and Canada. 40% of research-intensive institutions and 18% of master’s institutions mentioned the JIF, or closely related terms. Of the institutions that mentioned the JIF, 87% supported its use in at least one of their RPT documents, 13% expressed caution about its use, and none heavily criticized it or prohibited its use. Furthermore, 63% of institutions that mentioned the JIF associated the metric with quality, 40% with impact, importance, or significance, and 20% with prestige, reputation, or status. We conclude that use of the JIF is encouraged in RPT evaluations, especially at research-intensive universities, and that there is work to be done to avoid the potential misuse of metrics like the JIF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin C McKiernan
- Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Carol Muñoz Nieves
- Scholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Lisa Matthias
- John F Kennedy Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Meredith T Niles
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Juan P Alperin
- Scholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.,School of Publishing, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
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Alperin JP, Muñoz Nieves C, Schimanski LA, Fischman GE, Niles MT, McKiernan EC. How significant are the public dimensions of faculty work in review, promotion and tenure documents? eLife 2019; 8:42254. [PMID: 30747708 PMCID: PMC6391063 DOI: 10.7554/elife.42254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Much of the work done by faculty at both public and private universities has significant public dimensions: it is often paid for by public funds; it is often aimed at serving the public good; and it is often subject to public evaluation. To understand how the public dimensions of faculty work are valued, we analyzed review, promotion, and tenure documents from a representative sample of 129 universities in the US and Canada. Terms and concepts related to public and community are mentioned in a large portion of documents, but mostly in ways that relate to service, which is an undervalued aspect of academic careers. Moreover, the documents make significant mention of traditional research outputs and citation-based metrics: however, such outputs and metrics reward faculty work targeted to academics, and often disregard the public dimensions. Institutions that seek to embody their public mission could therefore work towards changing how faculty work is assessed and incentivized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan P Alperin
- School of Publishing, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.,Scholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Carol Muñoz Nieves
- Scholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Gustavo E Fischman
- Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | - Meredith T Niles
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences & Food Systems Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Erin C McKiernan
- Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Alperin JP, Muñoz Nieves C, Schimanski LA, Fischman GE, Niles MT, McKiernan EC. How significant are the public dimensions of faculty work in review, promotion and tenure documents? eLife 2019; 8:42254. [PMID: 30747708 DOI: 10.7554/elife.42254.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Much of the work done by faculty at both public and private universities has significant public dimensions: it is often paid for by public funds; it is often aimed at serving the public good; and it is often subject to public evaluation. To understand how the public dimensions of faculty work are valued, we analyzed review, promotion, and tenure documents from a representative sample of 129 universities in the US and Canada. Terms and concepts related to public and community are mentioned in a large portion of documents, but mostly in ways that relate to service, which is an undervalued aspect of academic careers. Moreover, the documents make significant mention of traditional research outputs and citation-based metrics: however, such outputs and metrics reward faculty work targeted to academics, and often disregard the public dimensions. Institutions that seek to embody their public mission could therefore work towards changing how faculty work is assessed and incentivized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan P Alperin
- School of Publishing, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
- Scholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Carol Muñoz Nieves
- Scholarly Communications Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Gustavo E Fischman
- Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | - Meredith T Niles
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences & Food Systems Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Erin C McKiernan
- Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Ilik V, Hebal P, Olson A, Wishnetsky S, Pastva J, Kubilius R, Shank J, Gutzman K, Chung M, Holmes K. DigitalHub: A Repository Focused on the Future. Med Ref Serv Q 2018; 37:31-42. [PMID: 29327992 DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2018.1404386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The DigitalHub scholarly repository was developed and launched at the Galter Health Sciences Library for the Feinberg School of Medicine and the greater Northwestern Medicine community. The repository was designed to allow scholars the ability to create, share, and preserve a range of citable digital outputs. This article traces the evolution of DigitalHub's development and engagement activities, highlighting project challenges, innovations, success stories, and the team-based approach that was employed to successfully achieve project goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Violeta Ilik
- a Stony Brook University Libraries , Stony Brook , New York , USA
| | - Piotr Hebal
- b Galter Health Sciences Library , Chicago , Illinois , USA
| | - Anton Olson
- b Galter Health Sciences Library , Chicago , Illinois , USA
| | | | - Joelen Pastva
- b Galter Health Sciences Library , Chicago , Illinois , USA
| | | | - Jonathan Shank
- b Galter Health Sciences Library , Chicago , Illinois , USA
| | - Karen Gutzman
- b Galter Health Sciences Library , Chicago , Illinois , USA
| | | | - Kristi Holmes
- b Galter Health Sciences Library , Chicago , Illinois , USA
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