Flaky Academic Journals

Barely a week goes by when I am not asked to submit an article to or become an editor of the Journal of This or That. One such missive is from Maple Xiao of the Canadian Center of Science and Education. Less than a week after I posted a 38-year-old book review on the Social Science Research Network, Ms. Xiao pounced:

I have the honor to read your paper "Book Review, The Right and the Power: The Prosecution of Watergate", and really appreciate your contributions in this area. As the editorial assistant of Journal of Management and Sustainability, I write to invite you to submit manuscripts to our journal.

Apparently, "management and sustainability" embraces a wide swath of subjects. (The book review asked whether it was proper for a former prosecutor to disclose previously private information about the subjects of the criminal investigations, and it questioned the justifications given by former Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski for some of his decisions.)

The Canadian Center of Science and Education "publishes many open-access journals and ... is now threatening to sue [Jeffrey Beall] for alleged defamation and libel." 1/ Beall, an academic librarian, lists it among the swelling ranks of "potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers."

Although the problem is widely recognized, 2/ I will update the following list of academic journal spam as it arrives. Observations about some of the purveyors also are included.

⊗ Academicians' Research Center (ARC)
ARC's website includes such remarks as "We vow for a quality peer review process"; "an ideal house of publications that accepts and promotes a creative research"; "a vehicle of research and education between the modern youth and the experienced, competent and qualified professionals through their intellectual awakening. It invites better than the best in all branches of knowledge" and "strives to become a fillip between the upcoming professionals, entrepreneurs, managers, administrators, scientists, technocrats, engineers etc." And it is "An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company" with a convenient "pay online" feature for foreign and Indian authors alike. (ISO 9001:2008 is a quality management standard for businesses that has been superseded by ISO 90001:2015).

• Excerpt (4/14/16, 6/21/16): Esteemed Professor, ... This is to bring your kind notice that Manuscript Submissions are open for Volume-1, Issue-2 [of ARC Journal of Forensic Science]. We assure you quality peer review process and respect for the submitted article. ... Kindly follow the link given below for further details for publication charges ... Looking forward for long lasting scientific relationship With Regards, Editorial Office
• Excerpt (7/21/16): Esteemed Sir/Madam, ARC Journal of Forensic Science ... invites contributions/ submissions to publish your research work in our journal. ... Kindly follow the link given below for further details for publication charges. Looking forward for long lasting scientific relationship, With Regards, Editorial Office, ARC Publications PVT LTD

⊗ American Association for Science and Technology (AASCIT)
See http://www.scientificspam.net/?p=76

• Excerpt (12/27/15): We learnt that you have published a paper The design of "the first experimental study exploring DNA interpretation" in SCIENCE & JUSTICE. We sincerely invite you to join AASCIT membership and submit the extended version of the published paper or new paper to our journal. To be an AASCIT member, you can take this precious chance to make a good preparation for your potentially fruitful year of 2016. We are always here looking forward to your joining. Hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the near future.
• Excerpt (7/4/16): Publishing Two Papers Free of Charge. From Mar. 20 to Sep. 20, 2016, you distinguished scholars and experts can apply to be our Life Members and get the opportunity to publish one paper for free in any of our journals within the next six months. Also, you can publish the other paper for free in one of some recommended journals within the next six months. Besides, you'll enjoy 50% discount to publish papers in our journals within the next three years. To know more details on our Life Members, please click ... Any interest, hurry up to take the rare chance to become our Life Member. Most Published Papers Can Be Indexed by Google Scholar. All journals in our platform have been indexed by Google Scholar. We sincerely hope that you can grasp this rare chance ... .

⊗ American Institute of Science (AIS)
AIS is behind "Public Science Framework." I only checked one of the 42 or so journals for an editorial board and found nothing but an invitation to join the board. See also Beall's note, Strange New OA Publisher Launches with 42 Journals.

• Excerpt (5/15/2016): Dear Professor/Scholar, As an independent and specialized platform, we are always committed to providing the best conditions for you authors to share your research findings. In order to show the sincerity for cooperation, we would like to give free publication to you esteemed authors to publish papers in some journals [of the Public Science Framework of journals] from May 12 to August 15. We sincerely invite you to submit your papers to these journals. ... Here is a piece of good news to you honorable authors that most publications in our journals have been indexed by academic search provider, Google Scholar.

⊗ American Research Institute for Policy Development (ARID)
See http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/04/28/more-junk-journals-from-a-bogus-research-center/

Journal of Law and Criminal Justice editor-in-chief, Prof. Dr. Billy J. Long, is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Ferrum College. According to the journal's website,"He has published dozens of scholarly articles in corrections, policing, theory, and on myriad other topics such as illegal immigration, prostitution, and AIDS in prisons." The e-mail of 2/7/16 came from aldin27_thomas@yahoo.com; on 7/4/16, the sender was harris.bertha97@yahoo.com. One other member of the editorial board of this "American Research Institute" journal is with a school in the US (Southeast Missouri State University). The others are in Poland, Spain, Turkey, Malaysia, Kenya, South Africa, and Iran (last checked 7/4/16).

• Excerpt (2/27/16, 7/4/16): Call for papers: ... Journal of Law and Criminal Justice is a refereed international journal that seeks to publish high quality research papers in the areas of socio-legal studies and the psychology of law, criminology and social justice studies. ... Regards, Professor Dr. Billy Long, Ferrum College, USA. Editor-in-Chief

⊗ Apex Journal International
"Research Publication at your finger tip" is the motto of this Nigerian publisher. Among its "key tenets" is a desire "[t]o publish the most exciting researches with respect to the subjects of our operating journal." The "operating journal" is open to "all aspects of biological, social, physical and agricultural sciences including art and education." When I clicked on two journals on 7/1/16, one had no editors, the other had two editors, and neither had any articles.

• Excerpts (6/29/16, 7/12/16, 7/13/16): Dear Professor, Doctor / Researcher, Apex Journal International, is currently accepting manuscript for publication in the following [12] journals: International Research on Medical Sciences, ... , Journal of Education Research and Behavioral Sciences, ... , International Law and Policy Research Journal, ... Best Regards, Apex Journal International Editorial Team

⊗ Austrian Scientific Publication House (ASPH)
Are they really in Austria? Following links for the editorial boards of the journals yielded either blank pages or lists devoid of Austrian editors. The editor-in-chief of the Austrian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering is Dr. Baydak Yuri, whose name is followed by only the following information: "Ukarine, Electrical machines and apparatuses, refrigeration equipment, compressors, refrigeration efficiency of domestic appliances." Each journal proudly states that "Our high qualities International Journal are published with high quality reviewed by scholarly of scientist to ensure the originality, relevance, and readability. The International Journal publish by us aims to contribute to the constant scientific research and training in the field of [take your pick]."

• Excerpts (5/3/16): Invite to Editor and Article: We need to an Editor in Chief and member of Editorial Boards to one of the all journals (If you want). If you want, Please send us, your request and CV. Publishing your articles in the lowest time[F]ounded on two key tenets: To publish the most exciting researches with respect to the subjects of our functional Journals. Secondly, to provide a rapid turn-around time possible for reviewing and publishing, and to disseminate the articles freely for teaching and reference purposes. ... ASPH Scientific Journals List · Austrian Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Austrian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering · Austrian Journal of Psychology and Management · Austrian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities · Austrian Journal of TechnologyPaperSubmission: editor.autpub@gmail.com URL: www.autpub.org Email: editor.autpub@gmail.com

Alleged editors of some of these journals include

• Dr. Shu Lin, University of California, Davis
• Dr. Biswanath Mukherjee, University of California, Davis
• Dr. Charles E. Perkins, WiChorus Corporation
• Dr. Arnold L. Rosenberg, Northeastern University and Colorado State University
• Aszistant Professor. Dr. Kaltoum Belhassan (Moroccan), American Association of International Management, New York "I worked in Ifrane Morocco with this organization"
• Jannis Kallinikos, The London School of Economics and Political Science
• Lars Mathiassen, Georgia State University
• Steve Sawyer, Syracuse University
• Susan Winter, National Science Foundation, USA
• Youngjin Yoo, Temple University

⊗ Bentham Science

• Excerpt (3/1/16): The journal Current Drug Abuse Reviews (CDAR) aims to publish the highest quality reviews (mini- and full-length), meta-analyses and drug clinical trial studies on all latest advances on alcohol and drug abuse and addiction. The journal further comprises an agenda listing relevant meetings and conferences that will take place in near future, and advertisements. ... It is a pleasure to invite you to submit a proposal for such a theme issue in a frontier area of your choice ... to thematicissue@benthamscience.org Your proposal should contain your CV ... Alternatively, you may want to consider submitting a review article to the journal. Guest Editors of thematic issues will be entitled to an honorarium of US$400 ...

⊗ Biomed Central
A cornucopia of "low quality" journals. The report, BioMed Central Accepts and Quickly Publishes an Obvious Junk Paper, is depressing: "Biomed Central has published an obviously bogus scholarly article that apparently uses the 'template-plagiarism' technique, crafting a new article from an earlier one, changing the data and some of the text." Despite what seems to be flagrant plagiarism, the Biomed Central article remains on the web as 7/1/16.

• Excerpt (6/22/16, 7/1/16): Dear Prof Kaye, We are very pleased to announce that the open access journal Skeletal Muscle has received its first Impact Factor of 3.500. As you know, the Impact Factor is just one measure used for evaluating a journal. Should you be interested in more information on the Impact Factor in general and alternative metrics, please click here. Read these influential articles and submit your next manuscript to the journal. ... The Benefits of Publishing with Us • High quality peer-review service • Expert Editorial Board • Rapid publication upon acceptance • Widest possible global dissemination of your research • Inclusion in a number of relevant full-text repositories. Please forward this email and share the good news. Best wishes, The BioMed Central Team

⊗ Canadian Center of Science and Education (CCSE)

• Excerpt (12/23/15): I have the honor to read your paper "Book Review, The Right and the Power: The Prosecution of Watergate", and really appreciate your contributions in this area. As the editorial assistant of Journal of Management and Sustainability, I write to invite you to submit manuscripts to our journal.

⊗ Center for Promoting Ideas (CPI), USA
See http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/01/09/questionable-oa-publisher-launches-with-a-clever-website-and-52-new-journals/; http://sacsanua.blogspot.com/2013/01/suspicious-academic-conferences-and.html.

• Excerpt (1/17/16): AIJSS [American International Journal of Social Science] aims to promote interdisciplinary studies in social science and become the leading journal in social science in the world. The journal publishes research papers in the fields of economics, international relations, law, development studies, population studies, political science, history, journalism and mass communication, corporate governance, cross-cultural studies, peace and conflict, library and information science, public administration, psychology, philosophy, sociology, women studies, religious studies, social welfare, anthropology, linguistics, education , management, marketing, finance, banking, accounting, human resources management, international business, hotel and tourism, entrepreneurship development, business ethics and so on. ...
  AIJSS is inviting papers for Vol. 5 No. 1 which is scheduled to be published on February 29, 2016. [A]n early submission will get preference in case of review and publication process. With thanks, Dr. Stewart Lehman, The Chief Editor, American International Journal of Social Science
• Note: The solicitation email above indicates that Anson Braeden (anson.aripd15@yahoo.com) is the sender, but a Google search turns up nothing for the name or address. The AIJSS website gives an address with no academic affiliation in Colfax, Louisiana, for the journal's editor-in-chief. The US members of the editorial board are listed (5/29/16) as
  
  • Patricia Westerman, Professor of Psychology, Bowie State University
  • Toni Muhammad, Department of Sociology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette
  • Linda Barton, Lead Professor of Marketing, College of Business Administration, Gainesville, GA
  • Jared Keengwe, Associate Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
  • Gary W. Ballou, Department of Education, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
  • Tonyesima Furro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work, Albany State University
  • Rickey Warner, Associate Professor, Management & Marketing, Grambling State University, LA

⊗ Clinics in Oncology
The website reports (7/2/16): "Clinics in Oncology Journal is a peer reviewed open access mega journal aims to publish basic, translational and clinical original research articles from all areas of oncology, surgery, clinical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, oncology case reports and images." It promises "rigorous peer-review"--wait for it--"within 2–3 weeks of submission. The interval between acceptance and publication online is 8 days ... on a continuous publication model." The editor-in-chief is "Min Rex Cheung, MD, PhD," who "is a board certified radiation oncologist specializing in the treatment of a variety of adult cancers with radiation therapy. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. from Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City."

• Excerpts (3/11/2016): Dear Dr. David H Kaye, Greetings for the day, Clinics in Oncology would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join our Sarcoma Editorial Board with the aim to serve the fast growing research community to disseminate best clinical practice. Clinics in Oncology is looking for prominent physicians ... to convey finest clinical resource and increase scope for best clinical understanding. The journal is looking forward to peers with top academic aptitude whose judgment is highly regarded within the journals main discipline. To confirm your willingness to be a part the Editorial Board for the Clinics in Oncology, kindly send: · A scanned copy of your CV · A scanned copy of your photograph. We would be glad to have you as a part of our editorial board and looking forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards, Blossom R. Damania, Remedy Publications LLC, 820 EL Camino Real, Belmont, CA 94002, USA

⊗ Herald Scholarly Open Access (HSOA)
Herald International Research Journals and Herald Scholarly Open Access are on Beall's list of "potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers." The website of the Journal of Forensic, Legal & Investigative Sciences describes it as "a comprehensive, factual reference for anyone interested in learning about the topics in forensic sciences and legal medicine from a lay perspective." The long list of editors omits an editor-in-chief but as of January 2016 includes the following prominent names in forensic science: Sue Black, Ranajit Chakraborty, Henry Lee, and Lawrence Kobilinsky. Other faculty of academic institutions in the US listed as members of the editorial board (and given nice certificates attesting to their membership) are Brion Benninger (Western University of Health Sciences), Franklin Dorman (Penn State), Artem Domashevskiy and Gloria Proni (John Jay College of Criminal Justice), Matthew J Delisi (Iowa State), Evgeny Katz (Clarkson University), Brooke Kammrath and Claire Glynn (University of New Haven), Eve Lowenstein (University of SUNY HSC Brooklyn Downstate), Igor Ovchinnikov (University of North Dakota), Sheree Hughes-Stamm (Sam Houston State), Charles Boyd (Radford University), Gisela Bishler (California State), Baneshwar Singh and Marilyn Miller (Virginia Commonwealth University).

• Excerpt: Hope this mail finds you in good health! ... I would be grateful if you would review a paper entitled “Impact of Background Noise in Mobile Phone Networks on Forensic Voice Comparison” with the manuscript references no HFLIS-15-007 for the Journal of Forensic, Legal & Investigative Sciences. If you wish to review this paper, kindly go through the abstract given below and if you do not want to review this paper, kindly let us know your opinion on the same so that we can send you full length article [emphasis added].
• Excerpt (2/19/16): Dear Dr. David H. Kaye, Greetings from the Journal of Forensic, Legal & Investigative Sciences! With reference to our previous mail, I am writing to follow up on the manuscript submission for our upcoming issue. Regards, Paul Schiller, Herald Scholarly Open Access, Herndon, Virginia USA

⊗ Internal Medicine Review

• Dr. Kaye DH, I came across your paper on The good, the bad, the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America. [sic] and was hoping to have the opportunity to discuss possibly having a followup to this paper or perhaps a short review article published in one of the next issues of the Internal Medicine Review. It would be interesting to see a paper with information on any continued research or new data since this was published. We are a peer-reviewed monthly journal, published both in print and online. The submission deadline is flexible. I would be happy to asnwer [sic] any of your questions. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. Best Regards, Milena Mihaleva, Senior Editor, Internal Medicine Review

⊗ IRET Group

• Excerpt (2/19/16): Dear Sir/Madam, International Journal of Emerging Trends in Electrical and Electronics (IJETEE) is an scholarly, online international journal which aims to Publishes peer reviewed original research result oriented Survey papers in the fields of Engineering and Promote Innovative Technology. IJETEE has 3.84 Technical impact factors. With regards, Editor

⊗ Insight Medical Publishing (iMedPub)
The publications include the Journal of Pancreas. The website of the group's Journal of Medical Toxicology and Clinical Forensic Medicine explains that: "Forensic analysis studies the arranged information with respect to events of occurred crime. Forensic analysis is used to determine and understand the outlines of the total activities. The data from claim organizations or from their original files is stated to as arranged data. Formless data in comparison is taken from statement and applications or from mobile expedients."

• Excerpt (3/22/16): Dear Dr. David H. Kaye, Greetings from Journal of Medical Toxicology and Clinical Forensic Medicine Hope you are doing well I wonder if you could write a short review or a short commentary based on your previous article entitled “The good, the bad, the ugly: The NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America” for publication in upcoming issue. ... It would be grateful if you would submit your manuscript by April 8th, 2016. If your manuscript is ready, submit it NOW. We will process and publish within 21 days after the rigorous peer review process. Note: We will extend the date of submission as per your convenience. Please provide me your acceptance for the same I will be waiting for your positive mail. Have a nice and healthy day ahead Warm Regards, Anna Melissa Editorial Manager

⊗ JSciMed Central (JSM)
These "125 international peer reviewed journals" are a "platform for all the researchers, scientists, doctors, students to update with the latest advancements in Science, Technology & Medicine." One report indicates that it uses dummy addresses in the US to mask its location in India. It advertises that "Our quality control team will help to analyze the quality of the manuscripts as per international standards." Apparently, English (or law?) is not part of the standards, as the next sentence on the webpage reads "Plagiarism is a crime, thus avoid plagiarism as we aim to harbor the Journal free from the malpractice."

• Excerpt (7/13/16 1:15 AM): Dear Dr. David H Kaye, Greetings for the day! This is to bring to your kind notice that we have received a manuscript entitled “Human Variation in Face Aging in Adult Monozygotic Twins: Biometric Implications for the Forensic Sciences” If you are interested in reviewing this manuscript, we will send you full length manuscript. Kindly let us know your valuable response. Sincerely, Jenifer Wringets, Editorial Office – Annals of Forensic Research and Analysis JSciMed Central, 1455 Frazee Road, Suite 570, San Diego, California 92108, USA

⊗ Knowledge Enterprises, Inc. (KEI Journals)
"A publisher to avoid"

• Excerpt (6/13/16): Dr. Kaye DH, I hope this email finds you well. My colleague Reni asked if I could get in touch with you about your paper titled The good, the bad, the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America.. Firstly thank you for taking the time to publish this, it was an interesting read. I am hoping to have the opportunity to discuss having a short followup or perhaps a review article published in one of the next issues of our journal. I think our readers could be interested in a paper with information from any continued research or new data since this was published. It would not have to be a long article, but if you don't have time for this perhaps you could also reach out to the co-authors or one of your students to collaborate. ... If you have any questions about whether or not a certain subject fits the scope of the Medical Research Archives I can put you in contact with Dr. Steven Lindheim from our editorial board. Could you please let me know your thoughts on this? Sincerely, Dr. Kateryna Bielka, M. D., Medical Research Archives, www.journals.ke-i.org/mra

⊗ Merit Journals
From the About MRJMSS page: Merit Research Journals of Medicine and Medical Sciences ... was sprung into actions for two reasons: To publish excellent and unprecedented researches that are in line with the interest of our journals. Secondly, to create avenue for exploration, ravaging and manifestation of the world of knowledge, and to disseminate the articles freely for teaching and reference purposes, especially for researchers and teachers in developing nations.
It is the policy ... not to request for grants for its operations ... . Rather we have chosen the model of self sustenance through collecting processing fee for articles published. ... [W]e resulted to collecting the processing fee once an article has been reviewed and accepted for publication by an editor.

• Excerpt (4/29/16): Dear Colleague, The Merit Research Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences (MRJMMS) ... will be published monthly. ... Our objective is to inform authors of the decision on their manuscript(s) within four weeks of submission. ... We welcome all your submissions. ... Warm regards, Larry Dave, Editorial officer
  N.B.: The website promises "reputable academics and experts as members of its Editorial Board," but I see no names listed there. The "about MRJMSS" page is revealing: "The establishment of this Journal ... is an answer to the wishes and desires of many researchers and teachers in developing nations especially in Africa and Asia who lack free access to quality materials online. This Journal opts to bring panacea to this problem, and to encourage research development."

⊗ Net Journals
Editors from US institutions as of January 2016 were Abdul Sami (Eye World, NY) and Xia Xuefeng (assistant professor of genomic medicine at the Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute, also on the editorial board of the Jacobs Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics)

• Dear Colleague, International Research Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences (IRJMMS) calls for submission of manuscripts from members of all medical specialties. ... [W]e thrive to promote communication among clinical researchers, doctors and health workers regardless of their medical specialties or type of employment, worldwide. Send your manuscript ... Best regards, Dr. Attapon Cheepsattayakorn, Editor
• Dear Colleague, *Biochemistry and Biotechnology Research (BBR)* calls for submission of manuscripts from all areas related to Biochemistry and Biotechnology. All submitted papers received are treated as top priority and peer-reviewed before publication. *BBR* focuses on wide range of biochemistry and biotechnology as well refers to the high quality articles on genetic engineering, ... . Best regards, Prof. John W. S. Ho

⊗ OMICS International
Horror stories abound. See Wikipedia | Australian Broadcasting Corp. | Individuals: ( 1 | 2 )

Excerpts (4/27/16): Dear Dr. David H. Kaye, Hope you are doing well! Looking at your previous contribution towards the scientific community, we are very impressed with your great research work and we are glad to inform you that Global Journal of Nursing & Forensic Studies is under process of accepting new articles from an eminent person like you. It will be a great pleasure if you could submit your research work like review article, short commentaries, image articles towards our journal. ... The last date of submission is May 15th 2016. Awaiting to hear a positive response from you soon. Have a great day ahead! With regards, Princy D, Editorial Assistant

Excerpts (5/5/16): Dear Dr. David H. Kaye, Greetings!! It's your eminence and reputation in the quality of research field for which you have been invited and requested to submit a manuscript for Global Journal of Nursing & Forensic Studies! It will be a great honor for us if you accept our invitation and submit your manuscript. ... We strongly believe that your contribution to this issue will bring some momentum to solicit the articles in 2016. We look forward for a long lasting scientific relationship. With best regards, Princy D, Editorial Assistant

Excerpts (2/2/16, 3/7/16, 6/21/16, 6/23/16): Hope you are doing great!! I would like to invite you to submit a paper for Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences ... an Open Access & peer-reviewed journal which strives to release issues bi-monthly and is adamant to publish manuscripts relating to the field of Civil & Legal Sciences. I would be glad to have a contribution from your side to this journal. ... Kindly provide your valuable manuscript on before February 15th, 2016 or let me know your possibility regarding submission date. If your Manuscript is ready you can submit it as soon as possible. You may submit your paper online ... or you can simply send as an attachment to editor.jcls@omicsonline.org. Kindly revert back for further queries. Looking forward to hear from you soon. Warm Regards, Sonia mattews, Editorial Assistant, Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences [Sender name = Arabian Journal of Business and Marketing]

The editorial board of the Journal of Civil & Legal Services includes (according to the website):

• Amit K.Chhabra, Professor, New York Law School (5/29/16)
• Antonio Gidi, Professor, University of Tennessee College of Law (5/29/16)
• Christina Mancini, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University  (5/29/16)
• Elizabeth Nowicki, Associate Professor, Tulane Law School (5/29/16)
• Daniel R. Ortiz, Distinguished Professor, University of Virginia School of Law (5/29/16)
• David T. Ritchie, Professor of Law & Philosophy, Walter F. George School of Law (5/29/16)
• Paul Rose, Associate Professor, Department of Law, Ohio State University (5/28/15)
• Seval Yildirim, Associate Professor, Whittier Law School (5/28/16)
• Tung Yin, Professor, Lewis & Clark Law School (5/29/16)

Authors include (according to the journal):

• Jessica Gabel Cino, Georgia State Law School (doi:10.4172/2169-0170.1000183 -- four days from acceptance to publication)

⊗ Open Access Library (OALib) Journal
The "Principal Place of Business" is in the East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, Wuhan, China, but for ease of communication, the solicitation suggests Open Access Library Inc., Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. "322 subject areas. The article processing charge for publishing in OALib journal is Only $99. Submit now"

• Excerpt: We are engaged in publishing all kinds of articles including regular scientific papers ... It is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal covering a wide range of academic disciplines, which is dedicated to the latest scientific advancements. ... Rigorous peer review of research papers ... Rapid publication within 2-3 weeks after the submission of article ... Best regards, Jane Wong, Editorial Assistant

⊗ Peertechz Journals

• Excerpt (3/1/16); Special Greetings! We are pleased to announce a regular issue entitled "Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy" and we would like to invite you to submit a manuscript to the regular issue for possible publication in the Archives of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy. The idea is to present originally contributed research, review, case reports papers, mini review, short communication or any perspective from leading researchers in the field of Archives of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy Focus. ... aims to publish high quality basic and clinical research in all the disciplines related.

⊗ Progressive Science Publications (PSCIPUB)
A cursory check of the website reveals some symptoms of pathology. There are "+5000 active participants." The postal address is "Near Sadia Farooq Masjid, Khalid Town, Okara-56300 Pakistan." The editor of Applied Science Reports is "Professor. Dr. Raziuddin" (no full name, no affiliations). Editorial board members from the US and Western Europe are limited to:

○ Dr. Sunil Kumar Verma, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular, Biology University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Medical Research Building
○ Assistant Professor. Dr. Alfredomaria Lurati (Italy), Gaetano Pini Institute Chair, of Rheumatology, Hospital

• Excerpt (6/15/16): Fast track paper publication in DOI journals . It is our great honor to invite you for submitting your papers to PSCIPUB Journals. Papers from your country are welcome for publication! PSCIPUB Journals releases peer-reviewed scientific research journal that addresses both applied and theoretical issues. Advance in Agriculture and Biology, Applied Science Reports, Scientia Agriculturae, Progress in Management Sciences. Journals are indexed in famous Abstracting/Indexing services. Publication charges (Fee?) Free of Charges.

⊗ Public Science Framework

• Excerpt (2/21/16): Continued Privilege: Publishing Papers with 50% Discount
  Dear Scholar, Public Science Framework is always devoted to offering the best circumstance for you authors to share your research findings. In order to show the sincerity for cooperation, Public Science Framework decides to make continued privilege for you--publishing papers with 50% discount in 7 journals: International Journal of Materials Chemistry and Physics, International Journal of Chemical and Biomolecular Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences Journal, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, International Journal of Life Science and Engineering, American Journal of Marketing Research, International Journal of Education and Information Technology.
  We learnt that you have published a paper The design of "the first experimental study exploring DNA interpretation" in SCIENCE & JUSTICE. We sincerely invite you to join Public Science Framework and submit the extended version of the published paper or new paper to our journal.
• PSF must be doing better financially. An email of 5/2/16 only offered a 40% discount "to show the sincerity for cooperation [of] you faithful authors." Now the list of "all journals" was the International Journal of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, International Journal of Mathematics and Computational Science, International Journal of Modern Physics and Applications, Physics Journal, American Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing, International Journal of Materials Chemistry and Physics, International Journal of Modern Physics and Applications.

⊗ Research Institute for Progression of Knowledge (RIPK)

• Excerpt (1/31/16): International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS) providing a platform for the researchers, academicians, professional, practitioners and students to impart and share knowledge in the form of high quality empirical and theoretical research papers, case studies, literature reviews and book reviews. ... publishes research paper in the field of: ... Philosophy, ... International Relations, Law, Development Studies, ... Tourism and Hospitality Management, ... Strategic Management Policy, ... Entrepreneurship Development, ... Public Administration, ... and so on. ... IJESS is inviting papers for Vol. 3 No. 2 which is scheduled to be published on February 29, 2016.
  Acceptance Notification: Within 5-7 days from the date of manuscript submission. Submission deadline: February 08, 2016
• Repeated "with warm regards" from "Chief Editor, Dr. George Banner, Jr." May 28, 2016 (seeking submissions by June 5 for "Vol. 3 No. 6 which is scheduled to be published on June 30, 2016").
• Excerpt (2/18/16): International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Review IJHSSR is inviting papers for Vol. 2 No. 2 which is scheduled to be published on March 31, 2016. Acceptance Notification: Within 5-7 days from the date of manuscript submission. Submission deadline: February 28, 2016.
• Continuing to promise all but instant review and publication, an email of 4/3/16 specifies a submission deadline of April 10 for the April 30 issue of IJHSSR. Comparable email on 5/3/16. No information on editor-in-chief Dr. Willard Nicholas is evident on the journal's webpage.

⊗ Scientific Publishing Group (SciencePG)
SciencePG is one of the most brazen predatory publishers. Its American Journal of Modern Physics has no editor listed, and the four-member editorial board of this "American Journal" hail from the Sudan, India, Russia, and the Ukraine. The published titles include "Modification of Einstein's E= mc² to E =1/22 mc²/". The European Journal of Biophysics has no one from Europe on the editorial board. but its board members and four peer reviewers supposedly include

○ Khyati Dave, Department of Biodesign, Stanford University
○ Peng Zou, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University

See also https://scholarlyoa.com/2014/06/17/science-publishing-group-publishes-junk-science/ and https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_students_being_warned_about_Science_Publishing_Group ("I pointed out that my field is Ecology & Ethology, which none of their 'journals' covers. They wrote back offering to create that journal and make me editor in chief.").

• Excerpts (5/19/16): Dear Professor/Researcher, Learned that you have made research findings in your research field, we now cordially invite all the scholars, experts and researchers to submit your papers to our journals and to enjoy the fast publication, which will also help you make more achievements.

⊗ Scientifica (Hindawi)
The "distinguished editorial board" is divided into 64 subject areas from "Allergy" to "Zoology" with no editor-in-chief listed for any group or for the overall mass. Cairo-based Hindawi Publishing claims to have "more than 30,000 internationally-recognized Editors". "Scientifica currently has an acceptance rate of 14%" and an "average time between submission and final decision [of] 22 days." See http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2013/01/09/hindawi-another-dodgy-oa-publisher/ for more comments.

• Excerpt: I am writing to invite you to submit an article to the Genetics subject area of Scientifica, which is a peer-reviewed, open access journal ... in a wide range of subjects within the life sciences and environmental sciences. ... The journal has a distinguished Editorial Board ... . ... Best regards, Ghada Salah, Editorial Office, Scientifica, Hindawi Publishing Corporation
• Excerpt (6/28/16): Dear Dr. Kaye, I would like to invite you to submit an article to Journal of Nucleic Acids, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal publishing original research articles and review articles related to all aspects of nucleic acids. Publishing an article in Journal of Nucleic Acids normally requires Article Processing Charges (APCs) of USD 1,000. However, all APCs will be waived for manuscripts submitted to Journal of Nucleic Acids during July 2016. [A]ll published articles will be made available on PubMed Central and indexed in PubMed at the time of publication. ... A current list of the journal's Editors can be found at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/editors/. ... Best regards, Rana Khaled, Editorial Office, Journal of Nucleic Acids, Hindawi Publishing Corporation

  As of 7/1/16, I could find no editor-in-chief for this journal and no articles in press. The advertised editorial board includes the following US members:
  

  • Ashis Basu, University of Connecticut
  • Ann L. Beyer, University of Virginia
  • Emery H. Bresnick, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Tapas Hazra, University of Texas Medical Branch
  • Luis A. Marky, university of nebraska omaha
  • Zucai Suo, The Ohio State University
  • Yitzhak Tor, University of California, San Diego

⊗ Scientific Research Publishing Inc. (SCIRP)
From Wikipedia (7/15/16): [I]ts journals duplicated papers which had already been published elsewhere, without notification of or permission from the original author and of the copyright holder. ... Some of the journals had listed academics on their editorial boards without their permission or even knowledge, sometimes in fields very different from their own. [O]ne of its journals ... accepted a paper written by a random text generator.

• Excerpt (7/15/16 4:19 AM): Dear David H. Kaye, You are cordially invited to submit or recommend articles to Psychology (PSYCH, ISSN Print: 2152-7180), which is an international academic journal devoted to the publication of original contributions in relevant areas. ... Best regards, Ms. Ray Wong (Editorial Assistant), PSYCH Editorial Office, E-mail: psych@scirp.org

The PSYCH's website (7/15/16) defines the relevant areas, which include "National Psychology," "Traffic Psychology," "Scientific Psychology," and "Other." It lists Prof.  Peter Walla, University of Newcastle, Australia, as the editor. The US members of the editor board as listed are

• Dr.  Matthew C. Costello, Indiana University South Bend
• Dr.  Jay R. Elliott, Yale University
• Dr.  Thomas Vincent Frederick, California Baptist University
• Prof.  Jay Friedenberg, Manhattan College
• Dr.  David M. Goodman, Harvard Medical School
• Dr.  Hong Jiao, University of Maryland
• Dr.  Michelle Y. Kibby, Southern Illinois University
• Prof.  Kenneth A. Kiewra, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Prof.  Beth Kurtz-Costes, University of North Carolina
• Prof.  Tim F. McLaughlin, Gonzaga University
• Dr.  John T. Mitchell, Duke University
• Dr.  Jennifer Kim Plybon Penberthy, University of Virginia School of Medicine
• Dr.  Massimiliano Versace, Boston University
• Dr.  Berney J. Wilkinson, Webster International University
• Dr.  Patricia Gail Williams, University of Louisville

Excerpt (7/21/16): Dear David H. Kaye, The Creative Education (CE), a peer-reviewed open-access journal, is seeking papers for the upcoming special issue on "Critical Pedagogy and Critical Thinking Research". We would like to invite you to submit or recommend original research papers to this issue through our Paper Submission System.Best regards, Dr. Cathy H. Qi (University of New Mexico, USA), Editor-in-Chief, E-mail: ce@scirp.org

⊗ Scinzer Scientific Journals
These "scientific journals" include Accounting and Management, Humanities, and Medical. Yes, just the "Scinzer Journal of Medical." The editorial board includes two US members: "Assistant Professor. Dr. Qiuying Yang, UTSouthwestern Medical Center," and postdoc "Dr. Sunil Kumar Verma, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Medical Research Building." Dr. Yang is also with Progressive Science Publications. If the journals have any content at all, I cannot find it at Scinzer's website. The postal address is "NO 178, Vienna, 1120 Meidling, Austria."

• Excerpts (6/18/16): Dear Researcher, It is our great honor to invite you for submitting your papers to Scinzer Journals. Papers from your country are welcome for publication! Journals are indexed in famous Abstracting/Indexing services. Scinzer journal papers are highly cited in other researches. Scinzer Journals publishing looks forward to improve the facilities for better servicing to authors and researchers. Publication charges (Fee?)= 40 USD Per Paper. Publication Time= 7 Days

⊗ Time Journals
Eight subject-area journals were listed as of January 2016. The Time Journal of Biological Sciences is "Monthly published," yet its archive shows only three issues every year, often consisting of a single article (and sometimes the same article appears in more than one issue).

• Excerpt: Dear Dr., ... We cover all areas of scientific researches and we welcome the submission of manuscript(s) with a significance and scientific excellence ... We are indexed by well recognize database such as ... . Our objective is to inform author(s) of the decision on their manuscript(s) within 2 weeks of submission. Best Regards, Editor

⊗ Trade Science Inc.
See the discussion on Beall's list. Can any journal that spams for editors of between 10 and 18 journals at once, as Trade Science has done in 2013 and 2016 (and probably other years), be credible?

• Excerpt (2/23/16): Trade Science Inc seeks e-applications for the positions of Editors for below international journals commencing February 2016. To select Editors, the Trade Science Inc has created a Search Committee ... Accounts of Biotechnology Research, Analytical Chemistry, Applied Cell Biology, Biochemistry. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biosciences, Chemical Technology, Electrochemistry, Environmental Sciences, Inorganic Chemistry, Macromolecules, Materials Sciences, Nano Science & Nano Technology, Natural Products, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Polymer
• Excerpt (3/20/16): SUBMIT MANUSCRIPTS NOW !! New International Physics & Astronomy Journals Acoustics Research, Astronomy Research, Atomic & Molecular Physics, Chemical Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Journal of Physics & Astronomy, Nuclear & High Energy Physics, Statistical & Nonlinear Physics, Surface Science

Notes

1. Declan Butler, Investigating journals: The dark side of publishing The explosion in open-access publishing has fuelled the rise of questionable operators, 495 Nature 433 (2013); Colleen Flaherty, Librarians and Lawyers, Inside Higher Education, Feb 15, 2013, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/15/another-publisher-accuses-librarian-libel. I am not sure if it is merely duplicates Beall's list, but the list at Fake Research Journal Publishers, https://sites.google.com/site/fakeresearchjournalpublishers/home, is easy to scan.
2. E.g., John D. Bowman, Predatory Publishing, Questionable Peer Review, and Fraudulent Conferences, 78 Am. J. Pharm. Educ. 176 (2014), doi: 10.5688/ajpe7810176, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315198/; Jocalyn Clark & Richard Smith, Firm Action Needed on Predatory Journals, 350 Brit. Med. J. h210 (2015), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h210, http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h210; David Moher & Ester Moher, Stop Predatory Publishers Now: Act Collaboratively, Annals Internal Med. (2016), http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleId=2484878&guestAccessKey=a399556a-92ad-443f-855f-9d7fea36fefd; Cenyu Shen & Bo-Christer Björk, ‘Predatory’ Open Access: A Longitudinal Atudy of Article Volumes and Market Characteristics, 13 BMC Medicine 230 (2015), DOI: 10.1186/s12916-015-0469-2, http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0469-2 .

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