Many universities around the world pay academics to publish their research. A recent study in South Africa, though, suggests they should be cautious of such practices. The country’s Department of Higher Education and Training funds public universities for every article published in academic journals on any of six accredited lists. In response to this national funding structure, many universities now offer pay commission to academics for articles published in accredited journals.
The country’s massive increase in research output from 7,230 units in 2005 to 18,872 in 2015 was in response to this commission payment process. All around the world the pressure to publish has led to a focus on the exchange-value of academic publishing. Publication is seen to be exchangeable for promotion and bonuses.
Many of the academics we interviewed saw “publication in an accredited journal” as the measure of an article’s worth and not whether it made a “knowledge contribution”. But others were worried that the article’s content and readers seemed to matter less than whether it “counts” in the accreditation system. The exchange-value conception of publication was clearly implicated in the enormous rise in predatory publications. As academics rush to get published, so predatory journals move into the sector.
More: https://predatory-publishing.com/paying-commission-to-academics-reduces-the-value-of-research/
