It is important to be vigilant when choosing a journal – for there are unethical publishers in the publishing community, known as "predatory". The term was first used by Jeffrey Beall, an American academic librarian at the University of Colorado in Denver. In a short research paper, he described the phenomenon of an unethical publishing model that is primarily geared towards financial gain. He described the actions of publishers acting in this way as "predatory".
In the academic world, predatory journals and publishers are primarily discussed. However, the phenomenon is still evolving and thus also involves predatory sourcing of speakers for low-impact scientific conferences that are not indexed in bibliometric databases, as well as preying on the vanity of authors and publishing non-peer-reviewed monographs.
The activities of predatory publishers, journals or conference organisers are aggressive. It is common practice to impersonate reputable titles/names. Often, new periodicals, series or conferences are also created, which – despite the assurances of the publishers or organisers – do not have prestigious bibliometric indices. The aim of scientific predators is to extort money and scientific papers. Fraudsters often fake the official pages of journals, using primarily the title, but also the publisher's footer, DOI identifiers, ISSN, editorial board composition, etc. They accept texts for publication without peer review or text editing, so offers of rapid publication of papers should be treated with caution. The activities of predatory publishers are also characterised by a high degree of aggressiveness aimed at acquiring publications and representatives to editorial boards – they often include the names of scientists on their websites without their consent. In addition, they provide incorrect Impact Factor values or author citation rates, misrepresent the publishing process, notify authors of fees only after an article has been accepted for publication and charge for non-existent services. There are many factors that suggest a journal is potentially predatory. However, there is increasing talk of "questionable" journals and publishers – those whose certain activities are controversial and on the edge of scientific ethics.
