Editor Training

Protecting your journal from paper mills

Paper mills are currently a pervasive problem in scholarly publishing. These fraudulent organisations attempt to exploit authors’ need and desire to publish by selling authorship on fabricated or poor-quality manuscripts for a fee. This short course for journal editors covers what paper mills are, why someone might consider using them, the negative consequences that arise from publishing paper mill submissions, the signs and flags of a problematic manuscript and how to manage them if they are received. 

We have designed this course for journal editors across all scholarly fields and disciplines.  

 editor+B

Editor Resources

 english+C

English

time

25 minutes

About this course

Paper mills are fraudulent companies which create plagiarised, AI-generated or otherwise fake manuscripts and sell authorship. Their only goal is to generate as much profit as possible. There can be serious consequences for journals which publish their content, as well as damage to the scholarly record. This course enables editors to be aware of the problem and the consequences of this type of manuscript, identify the signs of a problematic paper mill submission and understand how to manage them.

Who should take this course?

This course has been written for journal editors who are new to the role, those who are more experienced but have not encountered paper mills, or those who have experienced paper mill submissions and wish to increase their awareness of the potential flags.

What will I learn in this course?

This short course provides an outline of what paper mills are and the ways in which they are a problem for the individuals who use them, any journals which publish their manuscripts, and the scholarly record as a whole if they reach publication. It also provides guidance for spotting signs of a paper mill manuscript submission, and how to manage them when received.