The Hunter Became the Hunted: A Graduate Student’s Experiences with Predatory Publishing

摘要

As predatory publishing has influenced the educational research community, this study sought to understand and articulate current predatory publishing practices which may render important academic research “post-truth” or “fake news” if authors are not careful where they publish and with whom. Findings suggest predatory publishers obscure publication charges, steal identities of real scholars and position them as editors of predatory journals, mimic website aesthetics of credible journals, and gather author information to further promote predatory publishing and fake academic conferences. Future research and viability of open-access publishing are addressed, as well as a discussion of academic publishing, predatory publishing, and the pressure graduate students and junior researchers often experience during the “publish or perish” process of tenure and promotion.