Prof. Raj Shree Dhar
Apoorva S.
Acknowledgement in the academic world is no mean feat. It is the dream of every scholar to get recognized in her field by receiving a prestigious award or getting published in a highly acclaimed journal for the same. Most institutions in our country are not equipped enough to boast of a robust research culture which, unfortunately, leads to an unethical rat race vis-à-vis awards and publications. However, what is even more alarming is the current trend in our UT to not only laud but advertise and promote such bogus claims to recognition which severely harm the academic environment of institutions. Young researchers find such shortcuts more attractive than the physical and mental pains that genuine scholarship entails in its making. This, as a result, contributes to the setting of unhealthy academic precedents in society. Serious researchers who repudiate the appreciation of such spurious journals and award committees are sadly left behind in this rat race of earning promotions and tenure extensions.
In 2020, a senior academician from Nigeria was accorded the award of “best researcher” by an alleged predatory entity. While the university and colleagues tend to celebrate such accidental “wins”, it is imperative that the research world gets acquainted with the ubiquity of such organizations that often confer unsubstantiated awards for substandard work. Such award titles usually consist of ornamental terms like “excellence”, “best leader”, “best researcher” and so on. These are deep-rooted scams that fleece unsuspecting researchers by appealing to their inner, subconscious vaingloriousness. After all, who would not like to be called an “inspirational” researcher with “unparalleled” work to her credit? In a bid to become globally relevant, people often fall prey to such schemes that mainly target developing countries. Such entities actively seek researchers via email or other means to send them their publications or apply for certain awards in exchange for money. It would not take unimaginable intellectual acumen to understand that these are obviously money-making ventures with hardly any connection to research or merit. Such committees not only charge exorbitant amounts of money but also encourage mediocrity through their lack of blind peer review and absence of editorial committees. Since in the current research climate in the UT, the quantity of papers is likely to be prioritised over quality, pseudo-researchers are given the chance to proliferate without any qualms and with no one to hold them accountable. Such practices only serve to rob well-deserving and bona fide research of the opportunity to get published, recognized, and applauded.
A 2021 study published in Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (by SAGE) lists the factors to be considered while understanding the dubiety of predatory awards. Such organizations are inclined to endorse undistinguished research by doling out as many awards as the number of interested candidates. Such awards are given generic names and are not restricted to a particular field of study. The judging criteria are not disclosed to the public and even when they are, their suitability and legitimacy can be highly questionable. Another red flag in the assessment of predatory award committees, as per the study, is the omission of the no-award clause in the event of not receiving an adequate number of creditable applications. Such a clause is removed as these awards flourish on account of the processing fee that their awardees pay in the quest for appreciation.A tendency to deliberately enshroud the details of such awards on the part of the honourees has been noticed of late. Many people are also willing to advance their informal journal articles (which are not necessarily based on actual research) as research papers in job interviews, soliciting extensive praise for their “research potential”. It is of critical importance, especially in today’s age of seemingly deceptive technology,that we ascertain the credentials of candidates who claim to have published a hundred papers in the span of only a few years’ career in academia. Even if the co-authored and multi-authored papers are taken into consideration, such a ‘herculean task’ seems implausible at best. Research is a strenuous, time-consuming, and gradual process. It does not, and should not, prove to be of any help in garnering overnight fame.
These awards are also devoid of many other restrictive clauses such as the upper age limit, exclusion of previous winners from its ambit, submitting old and already published works for felicitation etc. The spawning of such predatory businesses is reprehensible as it obstructs academia from offering a level playing field. Another feather to the cap of a horde of misleading credentials is added when these journals and awards try to enhance their reputation with the word “international” attached to the title so as to attract the attention of novices. Just as the “target approach” vis-à-vis family planning failed during the Emergency, a similar method with respect to publishing is bound to crash sooner or later and may simultaneously even break down the entire academic machinery. Honest research training does not just include the teaching of ethical practices but also the ability to recognize publishing fraud. When meaningful research is published in highly acclaimed, peer-reviewed journals, it allows the scholars and the affiliated institutions to engage in critical debate and dialogue so as to further the advancement of human potential and knowledge. It is therefore absolutely crucial to awaken the public in general and the researchers in particular to understand the detrimental results of such “publish or perish” practices. Our UT does not have much exposure or experience in fending off the attacks and threats of such trash journals and awards. We need to make the young community of researchers aware of these unscrupulous agencies that operate only on profit and not merit. Before it compromises the credibility of the research undertaken in the UT, a multi-pronged coordinated approach involving various stakeholders is needed to thwart the burgeoning of these bodies. We need to be wary of words like “international” or “global” when used in the journal titles which brag of an excessively high impact factor. Seminars and talks should be conducted along these lines to guide the students and faculty in making a wise choice of journals. Just like the different variants of coronavirus quickly adapted to resisting newer vaccines, such predatory journals and awards keep developing advanced ways to escape scrutiny. We need to periodically update our databases if we want to put a stop to this sham disguised as research. Lastly, it is high time we remedy the bias introduced by our predecessors – of stressing on quantity instead of quality of research.
NEP 2020 has set up some ambitious goals to improve the research culture of our country. The idea is to encourage multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research so as to make its real-life application beneficial to all. PM Narendra Modi had remarked in one of his formal addresses: “Our regulatory environment has not been encouraging research, innovation, and enterprise”. A strong impetus to research is hoped to come to fruition through the new policy by establishing the National Research Foundation (NRF) which will extend necessary funding for quality research in the country. The NRF shall also be credited with the task of expanding the research capabilities of state universities and other public institutions. If we wish to see the vibrant economy of our nation getting translated into an effective Knowledge Society, we must constantly endeavour to desist from unconscionable research practices like receiving recognition via predatory journals and awards, and also call out the researchers and firms that uphold such dishonourable tactics even in the twenty-first century.
Prof. Raj Shree Dhar is Principal, GDC Jindrah, J&K and Apoorva S. is a literature and cultural studies enthusiast.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
