Journals on Beall's list?

[futureapppsy2]

An article on which I'm a minor author (sub-5th) was just accepted to a journal from a publisher on Beall's list of probable predatory publishers (http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/), and honestly, the journal seemed sketchy. They initially sent us the review for a completely different article (!), and both that review and the one for the actual manuscript seemed almost cut-and-paste level of generic. I have no academic investment in the study itself and was an author basically through formality; the study was done as part of a class, and everyone in the class was added as authors for our involvement in conceptualization, measurement development, and working on the manuscript throughout the semester. I wouldn't say it's a bad study itself--the sample size is small and the results aren't mind-blowing, but the methodology is decent and the paper is well written. The journal, though, worries me, as I've always made a point of trying to avoid sketchier publication outlets, especially Beall's list ones..

I'm perfectly happy with pretending this article doesn't exist in terms of my CV, etc., but are there any downsides to that? Anything else I should do or consider?

(The lead author submitted it to this journal without our knowledge, and when I pointed out that it was on Beall's list and thus maybe not the best place to publish, they said that the believed that Beall was biased against open access and didn't take much stock in his list. I know there's been some criticism in this vein about Beall, but I think his list seems pretty solid in general).

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[deleted343839]

There are a couple of things wrong with this picture. The most concerning is that the lead author submitted this to the journal without your knowledge or agreement, which is a breach of publication ethics. Second, you seem uncomfortable having your name on this paper, to the extent that you'd leave it off your CV. These issues alone give you justification to ask the lead author to remove your name from the paper. Will it hurt your career to be a middle author on a paper in a no-name OA journal? Probably not in the grand scheme of things, but it won't enhance your CV either. If you have *any* concerns about other ethics issues, you should bow out right away.

Do match your CV to your actual publication record. The Internet will link you to this paper forever whether you like it or not. Though the likelihood of someone noting the discrepancy is small, it may eventually pop up on ResearchGate or Google Scholar or something like that. Why would you agree to co-author a manuscript that you didn't want to be associated with "on the record"?

 

[futureapppsy2]

There are a couple of things wrong with this picture. The most concerning is that the lead author submitted this to the journal without your knowledge or agreement, which is a breach of publication ethics. Second, you seem uncomfortable having your name on this paper, to the extent that you'd leave it off your CV. These issues alone give you justification to ask the lead author to remove your name from the paper. Will it hurt your career to be a middle author on a paper in a no-name OA journal? Probably not in the grand scheme of things, but it won't enhance your CV either. If you have *any* concerns about other ethics issues, you should bow out right away.

Do match your CV to your actual publication record. The Internet will link you to this paper forever whether you like it or not. Though the likelihood of someone noting the discrepancy is small, it may eventually pop up on ResearchGate or Google Scholar or something like that. Why would you agree to co-author a manuscript that you didn't want to be associated with "on the record"?

Originally, the lead author submitted it to a reputable journal. It was rejected, and he submitted it to this journal and let us know after the fact. The journal reviewed, accepted, and printed it within a month--oddly, we didnt have to sign any copyright transfer or publication agreement forms. I was actually shocked when the lead author didn't pull the paper after the journal sent us the wrong reviews, despite me suggesting it. Like I said, I don't have issues being associated with study or article, but the journal is not something I want to be tied to necessarily. Tbh, the study is so out of reach of my research agenda and a low authorship that I may not have put it on my cv regardless.

 

[deleted343839]

The publication itself is probably not going to be much of a problem for you. But a separate issue is that the lead author denied your group an opportunity to try for publication in a lower-tier but ethical journal. His beef with Beall's list aside, he picked a sketchy "journal" and conveniently sidestepped the issue by leaving the co-authors in the dark. He cheated you out of a chance for something you could put on your CV with confidence. That would p*** me off.

You have a legitimate ethical complaint against the lead author. But if you choose not to pursue a formal complaint, you can always write directly to the journal to make a correction and remove your name from the paper. At most journals that would be kind of a big deal, but since this journal operates pretty fast and loose anyway, who knows?

 

[futureapppsy2]

The publication itself is probably not going to be much of a problem for you. But a separate issue is that the lead author denied your group an opportunity to try for publication in a lower-tier but ethical journal. His beef with Beall's list aside, he picked a sketchy "journal" and conveniently sidestepped the issue by leaving the co-authors in the dark. He cheated you out of a chance for something you could put on your CV with confidence. That would p*** me off.

You have a legitimate ethical complaint against the lead author. But if you choose not to pursue a formal complaint, you can always write directly to the journal to make a correction and remove your name from the paper. At most journals that would be kind of a big deal, but since this journal operates pretty fast and loose anyway, who knows?

I completely agree that it was sort of unfair, but I think the lead author genuinely believes that a) as grad students, we should be grateful for any publication and shouldn't care what journal it is in and b) this journal is legit. Actually, it makes me sort of sad that for a lot of the other students, this is their first experience with publication and that they may believe that evaluating journal quality (or things like getting sent the wrong reviews) is not necessary and that this is all standard publishing behavior.

FWIW, the review of our actual paper seemed to be about the paper. It was very brief (one sentence just saying "this study has small sample size from one university but the authors acknowledge that; your call, editor"), but then again, I've seen huge variations in review quality even from really good journals. So, basically, I think it's technically peer-reviewed, but I also don't think that the reviews really matter to the journal, which is concerning.

As for removing my name, I think that would risk really causing an issue with the faculty member involved, and it doesn't seem worth that.

 

[Ollie123]

Sucks the first author did that (and that these journals are out there in the first place).

I wouldn't stress about it though. I assume you are middle author and not first or senior. You have enough publications this will blend in, but I do think its reasonable to leave off your CV. These types of journals often are not even indexed so it might not even pop up in a search. Even if it does, that concern (NOT listing a publication you DO have) isn't likely to raise eyebrows anywhere near the way it would if you listed a publication you don't have. If you do put it on your CV, I also really seriously doubt this will negatively impact you.

Its very much a "gestalt" type thing when looking at a CV. Someone whose CV is littered with junk journals and obscure book chapters is one thing. Nearly everyone will have a handful of things on there that aren't their pride and joy.

 

[deleted343839]

I see. Wow, shady ethics made even more impressive by a power differential. Super guy, this faculty member.

I agree with Ollie that this is very unlikely to have negative ramifications, and you might just have to pick your battles. It's still an unfortunate situation. A confidential tip to the institutional ombudsperson is another option that is less likely to carry severe consequences.