Issue #89
by Michael Seadle (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Reese Richardson, Spencer Hong, and Luís A. Nunes Amaral wrote a Retraction Watch blog entry called: “Hidden Hydras: Uncovering the Massive Footprint of One Paper Mill’s Operations.” The authors explained that paper mills want to remain as hidden as possible but still need to advertise:
“This contradiction makes it difficult for researchers like us who study systematic fraud to get a full sense of the scope of any paper mill’s operations. By charting the web presence of one shady business, we sought to do just that.”¹
The authors did a series of searches and were directed to “Academic Research and Development Association (ARDA), based in Chennai, India.”¹ ARDA has a list of:
“... indexed journals in which it can guarantee publication … Many of the titles listed on ARDA’s site are well-known hijacked journals already found on the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker.”¹
The charges per article are “US$250 to US$450”.¹ The authors also
“... uncovered a network of associations consisting of 828 distinct businesses, journals, publishers, individuals, universities, professional societies and indexing services. … Several businesses had bulk request forms for article writing and publication on their website. One stated on its FAQ page that if a journal gets de-indexed by Scopus, it will publish the client’s article in a back-dated issue.”¹
One obvious lesson from the author’s research is that authors need to be more aware of paper mills and the risks they face, especially when their own institutions discover that their publications lack the legitimacy of a genuine peer-reviewed journal. A paper mill publication may seem to help in the short term, but could become damaging once institutions learn the truth.
An important ongoing lesson is the damage done when institutions require so many articles that scholars (especially young scholars) resort to paper-mills. Valuing academic performance using counting techniques has become counterproductive. It forces institutions to deal with the damage done by paper mills, and it detracts from scholars’ ability to develop real ideas. Real scholars need time to think.
1: Richardson, Reese, Spencer Hong, and Luís A. Nunes Amaral. “Hidden Hydras: Uncovering the Massive Footprint of One Paper Mill’s Operations.” Retraction Watch (blog), October 1, 2024. https://retractionwatch.com/2024/10/01/hidden-hydras-uncovering-the-massive-footprint-of-one-paper-mills-operations/.
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