Authors publishing repeatedly in predatory journals: An analysis of Scopus articles

Scholars engage with so-called predatory or questionable journals for many different reasons. Among the contributing factors are monetary payoffs and the possibility of fast track faculty positions or promotion. It has been claimed that fast tracking promotion by using predatory publication outlets is an increasing problem. This study analyses the authors publishing in predatory journals with a focus on authors repeatedly publishing in predatory journals. In this study, a set of so-called predatory journals indexed in Scopus was used. The data included 243,396 authorships of articles and reviews published from 2004 to 2021 by 169,742 unique authors. This study finds that 55% of the authors publish in one of these journals only once, 34.5% publish 2-5 times in these journals, 6.3% publish in them 6-10 times, and 4.2% publish more than 10 times. Furthermore, this study finds that the mean and median number of articles and reviews is correlated with the number of articles and reviews in predatory journals. Finally, authors publishing in predatory journals do not confine themselves to these journals and also publish in validated journals as well.

Automated summary

Scholars engage with predatory or questionable journals for various reasons, including monetary gain and the potential for quick promotion. This study examines the publishing behavior of authors in predatory journals, particularly those who repeatedly publish in such outlets. The findings show that a significant portion of authors publish in predatory journals multiple times, and the number of publications is correlated with the overall output of articles and reviews. Furthermore, the study reveals that authors who publish in predatory journals also publish in reputable journals.