A new chapter examines predatory journals and conferences and offers key strategies for identifying and combating practices that threaten scientific integrity.
UNESCO has published a volume addressing current challenges in scientific research and communication, which includes Chapter 5, “Señales de alerta y estrategias para combatir la pseudociencia en la difusión científica”, co-authored by Cinta Gallent Torres (CGT), a member of the TeLL-ME research group, and SRC, from the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes.
The chapter focuses on a phenomenon that poses a growing threat to the quality and integrity of scientific communication: predatory journals and conferences. These entities offer researchers the opportunity to publish or present their work rapidly, generally in exchange for substantial fees, without providing rigorous and transparent peer-review processes.
Drawing on several cases documented in the scientific literature, the chapter illustrates how these platforms may prioritise financial gain over scientific rigour, taking advantage of the pressure researchers face to publish, attend conferences, and accumulate academic credentials.
The problem therefore extends beyond the existence of particular fraudulent entities. The expansion of these practices directly affects the quality of scientific knowledge reaching society, since the absence of rigorous evaluation can facilitate the dissemination of low-quality information, pseudoscientific claims, or findings that have not been adequately scrutinised.
In this context, the chapter argues that responsibility does not rest solely with those who operate these platforms. The academic community must also develop a critical approach to the publication and dissemination opportunities it encounters. Pressure to publish, lack of information, institutional inertia, or even reluctance to question established practices should not become reasons for ignoring warning signs.
Identifying potentially predatory journals and conferences therefore requires attention to factors such as the transparency of editorial processes, the composition of scientific committees, peer-review practices, publication fees, information about the organising body, and the consistency between advertised practices and those actually implemented.
The chapter thus raises a fundamental question for contemporary research: turning a blind eye can no longer exempt us from our ethical responsibility as an academic community. In a context characterised by the proliferation of scientific information and increasing pressure to publish, developing criteria for recognising questionable practices is also a means of protecting scientific integrity.
Ultimately, “turning a blind eye” is no longer an excuse. Ensuring rigorous scientific communication is a shared responsibility that requires the active involvement of researchers, institutions, publishers, conference organisers, and other stakeholders within the scientific system.
The chapter is available in the volume published by UNESCO:
