Beware Of Predatory Journals

Scientific journals release the results of scientific studies in the form of papers which, we are told are reviewed prior to publication by peers-- fellow scientists in the field who are supposed to scrutinize the manuscript and ensure that bad science doesn't get a pass. A predatory journal only pretends to do so. It exists solely to make money. It's like a parasite on the back of the scientific endeavor. What it publishes is of questionable quality. ⁽¹⁾

The public discourse on predatory journals often errs on the side of simplicity. There are good journals, like Nature and Science, and there are predatory journals. The bad journals often come from developing nations.