Predatory publishing and predatory journals: a critical review and proposed research agenda for higher education

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual review of the literature pertaining to predatory publishing, so as to derive cornerstone themes for an ongoing research agenda to eliminate predatory publishing. Findings identify four key themes as important underpinnings of such a research agenda. The first relates to the influences and consequences of Open-Access publishing on predatory journals. The second concerns the need to maintain academic standards in the wake of predatory journals. The third highlights the response of developing countries to predatory journals, and the fourth relates to the need to ensure predatory journals are restrained. Results suggest a need for a more holistic approach to predatory publishing research that reduces redundancy and links to over-arching issues of scientific rigour and credibility. The conceptual synthesis provided here extends current literature on predatory publishing, seeking to offer useful insights into how to ensure the effectiveness of an ongoing research agenda that can stay ahead of changes in the nature and boundaries of the predatory publishing phenomenon itself.