The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences will organise a webinar Predatory academic journals and conferences on the 7th of April. It connects to a new report on the subject released by IAP, InterAcademy Partnership.
The new IAP report was released the 16th of March and sets out recommendations for a global, systemic action plan to address these pervasive and damaging practices.
The research sector has become increasingly vulnerable to overt commercial predation. As academic and publishing business models, research evaluation and peer-review systems continue to evolve, they are susceptible to exploitation and malpractice. Driven by profit and self-interest, the extent of this predation is on the rise. It risks polluting the global research enterprise, with serious implications for research quality and integrity; wasting research funding, derailing research careers, and compromising evidence-based policy decisions.
The report from IAP (the global network of over 140 science, engineering and medical academies) is the culmination of a two-year study, Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences, funded by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which has explored these practices more comprehensively and inclusively than any previously.
An international Working Group of diverse experts has conducted extensive desk research, heard evidence from key stakeholders, and run a unique global survey that engaged over 1800 researchers around the world to build a better understanding of what constitutes predatory academic practices, their prevalence and impact, tools and resources to avoid them, and the drivers or root causes enabling them to thrive. The authors’ message is stark: predatory academic practices are rising at a concerning rate and require urgent attention.
A member of the Working Group, Stefan Eriksson, associate professor in research ethics, Uppsala University, will present the IAP report at the webinar organised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.