Pitfalls of Predatory Journals: A Personal Account

Abstract

An unexpected, relatively unknown, pitfall of electronic journals is the proliferation of “fake journals,” fake in so far as there are no editorial boards nor peer reviews of submitted manuscripts. The author’s investigation and personal experience with one such journal is described. Although most of the submissions to that journal have been from Third World scholars taking advantage of the low fees, it is only a matter of time before unsuspecting scholars from Europe and North America become entangled in such journals.