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The current state of science communication is being compromised by predatory journals. These fake journals are gaining popularity among early career researchers.

Publishing in these journals devalues your research work, disrespects you among the scientific community and hinders your career progression. It is therefore important to select a credible journal for your research.

Predatory journals abound in the science community with fake policies and compromised processes of review. They publish questionable data with ramifications far beyond the field of research itself. Inexperienced scientists yield to the temptation of publishing in these journals due to the allurement of quick publication and recognition among peers. This leads to loss of hard-earned credibility and reputation. It also hampers their career progression. In addition, they lose the opportunity to present their valuable research work in established credible journals with better viewership.

Many of these journals advertise rapid publications, promise to review manuscripts within a week, allow direct submissions through email and charge hefty article processing fees. Some of them even have a misleading website or substandard submission portal and are listed on major indexes like PubMed.

This phenomenon has skewed the peer-review system, and many scholars and researchers have lost faith in the academic publishing industry. As a result, there are calls for change in the system. The UGC has taken a step towards this by establishing the “UGC CARE List of Journals“. The purpose of the CARE list is to provide legitimacy and value to Indian scientific publishing.

The emergence of predatory journals is due to a combination of factors including mandates by higher educational institutions that require a stipulated number of research publications for employment and promotion, unregulated business models and the proliferation of online services offering rapid and cheap publication. Consequently, the academic world is groping for benchmarks on research integrity and publication ethics.

The CARE list, which is dynamic, sends a clear message that India does not support predatory publishing and unethical practices. This is being supported by the initiation of a two-credit course on Research and Publication Ethics by several universities, including SPPU. This has led to a rise in awareness about the importance of publishing in genuine journals. It is expected that the CARE list will continue to grow and gain traction in the future, thereby furthering the quality of Indian scientific research.

Publishing in a UGC CARE list journal is considered to be a major milestone for an early career researcher. Besides, it also helps in improving the citation count of your article. However, it is important to be aware of the predatory journals that are out there. These fake journals often promise quick publication of articles in exchange for a fee. They also claim to have a rigorous peer review process. This is why they attract many early career researchers. Moreover, these fake journals are listed in credible citation indexes which makes it harder for people to identify them.

Predatory publishers target authors by checking their profiles on authentic research platforms such as PubMed Central, Scopus and Google Scholar and shortlisting them for unsolicited emails. These emails usually promise quick publication of the articles in exchange for a fee. They may also offer editorial board membership for a small Curriculum Vitae (CV) submission. In addition, they may use grammatical errors on their websites to lure the authors.

In order to curb this menace, University Grants Commission has developed a journal evaluation and quality assurance framework called the UGC-CARE reference list of quality journals. It aims to promote and benchmark research integrity and publication ethics among the Indian academia. It is also intended to provide a mechanism for reporting misconduct and promoting academic accountability.

As of now, there are six journals that have been included in the UGC CARE list. These journals are screened with the help of a standardized procedure that involves recommendations from teaching faculty of universities or affiliated colleges and a declaration form. The UGC CARE list is updated regularly. The process of weeding out the predatory journals is not entirely transparent and needs to be improved. The UGC-CARE cell has also been criticized for its lack of engagement with new open publishing platforms such as preprints during the COVID-19 pandemic.