Predatory Journals, Piracy and New Models of Publishing Scientific Articles

Abstract

The paper responds to observed absurd impacts associated with predatory journals, both at the personal and institutional level. There is mentioned the basic procedure to identify predatory journal and how to find it in Beall’s list. Briefly are commented the consequences associated with the first study in the Czech Republic dealing with the number of articles published in predatory journals, which are inserted into the Information register of R&D results (RIV) by research institutions. On this basis, a part of the funding for universities and research organizations in the Czech Republic is redistributed. Furthermore, there are commented approaches to financing journals and publishing articles, in particular, a new model of paying membership fees used by the publication platform PeerJ. Finally, the issue of the availability of scientific articles including piracy issues is discussed. Described development, which we are currently witnessing, transforms the current system of science and related publishing of scientific articles or knowledge sharing within the society.

Keywords

• Beall’s list
• Predatory publishers
• Scientific journals
• Piracy
• Mega journals
• Open Access