The extent of South African authored articles in predatory journals
Date
2017-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academy of Science of South Africa
Abstract
We present a first estimate of the extent of predatory publishing amongst South African academics. This estimate is based on an analysis of all South African authored papers that qualified for subsidy over the period 2005 to 2014. The analysis shows that 4246 South African papers were published in 48 journals which we re-classified (refining Beall’s classification) as either being probably or possibly predatory. A breakdown of these papers by year shows that the greatest increase in predatory publishing has occurred since 2011. Results are also presented of the distribution of these papers by individual university and scientific field. We conclude with some suggestions about predatory publishing and its pervasive consequence for our trust in science and how this should be addressed by the major stakeholders in the South African higher education system.
Description
CITATION: Mouton, J. & Valentine, A. 2017. The extent of South African authored articles in predatory journals. South African Journal of Science, 113(7/8), Art. #2017-0010, doi:10.17159/sajs.2017/20170010.
The original publication is available at http://sajs.co.za
The original publication is available at http://sajs.co.za
Keywords
Open access publishing -- Education, higher -- South Africa, DHET funding framework
Citation
Mouton, J. & Valentine, A. 2017. The extent of South African authored articles in predatory journals. South African Journal of Science, 113(7/8), Art. #2017-0010, doi:10.17159/sajs.2017/20170010