Publications! Where are we going?

Publication means making it known to the public. Scientific publication refers to the written communication of research experiments and findings or the reporting of rare cases through print or digital media. The idea of publishing is to disseminate new concepts and knowledge, sharing research findings, and augmenting the knowledge of the academic and scientific community in the form of articles. These articles are published in magazines and journals. Although both are published periodically, the readers and authors for the latter are academicians and professionals.

The primary objective of publication is to disseminate knowledge and ideas; however, it also brings recognition, financial benefits, and opportunities for professional advancement and competition. While once a voluntary endeavour, publishing became mandatory after the University Grants Commission (UGC) and other statutory bodies in India established it as a prerequisite. Consequently, the pressure to produce scientific articles has intensified, leading to a proliferation of journals. With the annual surge in publications and evolving publication trends, the landscape of scientific publishing is undergoing significant transformation.[1] Presently, there is an inundation of journals and articles, which often perplexes rather than help the readers and authors. The root of this issue stems from both publishers and authors.

AUTHORS

In India, statutory bodies and the UGC require a specific number of publications by faculty members for eligibility to acquire academic positions and to serve as PhD supervisors.[2] Couple of years back, UGC mandated that PhD scholars publish research articles before submitting their theses; however, this compulsory requirement was scrapped off in 2022.[3] According to the 2016 UGC regulations, an institution must have at least 15 publications annually to qualify for Deemed University (DU) status.[4]

As per the National Medical Commission of India’s Teachers’ Eligibility in Medical Institutions Regulations, 2022, for promotion to the rank of professor, a minimum of four research publications is required (with at least two as associate professors and two as assistant professors).[5] The National Dental Commission, erst while the Dental Council of India, also mandates two to four publications (indicated by a point scale) for all academic positions except tutors. Additionally, dental postgraduates are encouraged to publish at least one article during their 3-year training period.[6]

In most of the deemed universities, the publication requirement is higher to attain a superior institutional ranking and grading. The benchmark set by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of India for publications is two per faculty member per year.[7] NAAC, National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), and other statutory bodies not only require article publications but also assign specific weightage to them.[8] Additionally, many universities offer incentives to faculty members for their publications. It goes without saying that article publication provides an added advantage in securing research grants from both governmental and non-governmental agencies.

Furthermore, alongside the mentioned factors, there exists peer pressure to publish, intensifying the desire for publication. Consequently, the quantity of scientific publications spiked significantly from ten by the close of the 17^th century to 100,000 by the close of the 20^th century.[9]

PUBLISHERS

While scientific journals serve as the cornerstone of scientific communication, the role of journals in improving the quality of research and science is debatable. Decades back, the scientific findings were communicated through two main channels: self-published books and booklets, and personal letters to fellow scientists.[10] Journals are typically published by scientific societies or associations as well as publishing houses. The former are primarily focussed on knowledge dissemination, whereas the latter operate as commercial entities driven by profit, constituting a multibillion-dollar industry. Initially, publishers were responsible for printing and distribution on behalf of associations and organisations. However, over time, they have transformed into overseeing the entire publishing process.

The revenue sources for publishers include subscription fees from institutions and universities (referred to as institutional subscriptions), sales of articles to readers, article processing charges collected from authors, and advertising. They generate profits exceeding 30% and assert themselves as curators of research, purportedly selecting only the most valuable articles for publication.[11]

Major academic publishers are renowned for their substantial revenue streams derived from subscriptions. According to the New York Times,[11] “Journal publishers collectively earned $10 billion last year, much of it from research libraries, which pay annual subscription fees ranging from $2,000 to $35,000 per title if they don’t buy subscriptions of bundled titles, which cost millions.” Another contentious issue is the failure to share profits with authors, who generate the content for their products. However, for textbooks, they pay a meagre amount under the guise of a royalty, which is lower than the retailer’s selling margin of the book.

To address for-profit publishers and paywall publishing, which restrict access to certain content without payment, the open access movement was initiated. Open access (OA) entails the free, immediate, online availability of journal articles or books, with full usage rights in the digital environment.[12] OA content is accessible to all users without access fees. The open access movement was pioneered by Paul Ginsparg, who established an arXiv repository at Los Alamos National Laboratory to provide physics preprints at no cost.[13] While readers do not incur charges for accessing open access publications, authors are required to cover publication fees (a “pay for your publication” model) and transfer the copyright of their work.

The primary source of revenue for open access publishers is charging authors a fee for processing, reviewing, and publishing their articles, despite none of the publishers pay the reviewers and editors. Additionally, income is generated through institutional subscriptions. Article processing charges typically range from 3000 INR to 1.5 lakhs INR. While the principle of open-access publication aims to reach as many readers as possible, publishers do not disclose to authors the readership base or the number of copies printed. However, submitted articles undergo peer review and other traditional article processing systems.

PREDATORY PUBLISHERS

Those publishers who do not follow the customary article processing system are called predatory publishers. They also exploit the academic publishing system for financial gain, often engaging in purely unethical and deceptive practices. This includes claiming to be indexed in reputed databases, having increased impact factors, and mimicking the name or website style of more established journals (journal cloning and high jacking). Most of these journals do not have a readership base and may not receive citations. New scholars from developing countries or researchers with a compulsive need for publications are falling as prey to these predatory publishers.

Some of these predatory journals even manage to enter SCOPUS and UGC care lists without meeting minimal scientific quality and ethical standards. It is shocking to note that certain institutions publish 30 to 40 articles in a single issue, with faculty members in junior positions having five to ten articles published in the same issue.[14] For example, a pharmaceutical journal, which was indexed in the SCOPUS database and was in the UGC CARE list (it was removed from both after this author raised concern over the editorial process), had a special issue containing 11,177 pages.[15] Yes, eleven thousand pages! equal to ten textbooks, and one can imagine how many kilograms it will be, if printed. This journal published articles from all available fields on earth. Many of the published articles do not fall within the scope of this Journal. Some of the articles published in a special issue are A Comparative Study Of The E-Commerce Platforms Of Amazon and eBay, Analysis Of Khoja Abdullah’s Works, The Prevalence And Aftermath Of Workplace Bullying: A Review Paper For Future Agenda, and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (Pmkvy) A Tool For Inclusive Economic Growth At District Level.[16,17] This is only the tip of an iceberg. There are many such journals.

There are agents available to publish articles in these types of journals. Institutions seeking the highest grade from accreditation authorities often enlist the services of such agents.[18] Consequently, the focus of science is transitioning from scientists to publishers and journals with commercial interests, along with their agents.

Approximately 25,000 to 40,000 journals exist worldwide, and this number continues to increase.[19] In India, there were approximately 100 medical journals in 2013 (Medical Journal and IJA Publication in India), and by 2023, this number had exceeded 250.[20] The Union Minister of Science and Technology disclosed that “India’s position globally in scientific publications has improved from 7^th position in 2010 to 3^rd position in 2020. He also added that India’s scholarly output increased from 60,555 papers in 2010 to 1,49,213 papers in 2020”,[21] encompassing science and engineering. According to Wordsrated, as of 2022, over 5.14 million academic articles are published annually, including short surveys, reviews, and conference proceedings. Among these, India contributes 275,367 academic papers per year, accounting for a global share of 8.05%.[22] Over the 5-year period between 2017 and 2022, India produced 1.3 million academic papers, securing the fourth position.[23] However, the magnitude of their impact remains a significant question.

The pressure to publish can lead to unethical practices such as plagiarism, salami publications, ghost authorship, p-hacking, metric manipulation, fake research data, and fake peer review.[1] Therefore, the emphasis on publication should be reduced. Instead, there should be a focus on promoting quality research. Policymakers, statutory bodies, and institutions should decrease the importance placed on publications and explore alternative methods, such as evaluating teaching contributions, community engagement, and participation in scientific conferences, to assess educators and researchers. Science shall be the realm of scientists and researchers and not publishers. Awareness should be raised about predatory journals and other publication misconducts. Institutions should avoid journals that charge excessive fees and operate solely as profit-driven enterprises.

Further the journal impact factor (JIF) is not a foolproof indicator of quality and should not be the sole criterion for submitting a research paper. Originally, it was developed to assist librarians in selecting journals for purchase and not to assess the quality of research articles.[24]