Adam Larson ’20 publishes article on stinging predatory journals

Carthage alumnus Adam Larson ’20 recently published an article in the journal European Science Editing. The article, “Stinging Predatory Journals: A brief overview and recommendations” was coauthored by Matan Shelomi, professor at National Taiwan University.

The article highlights a way to identify and address a serious problem in academic publishing.  Predatory journals that publish articles without rigorous peer review and editing can be difficult to identify, scamming authors out of publishing fees with little to no screening of the quality and accuracy of submitted articles.

Mr. Larson first learned about predatory publishing in a J-Term course, Ethic of Research in the Natural Sciences, taught by Associate Professor John Kirk.  The course covers a variety of topics, including research misconduct, intellectual property, human participants in research studies, and publication of research. 

While taking the course, Adam read a humorous “sting” article published in a predatory journal written by Prof. Shelomi about using Pokemon for medical anesthesia.  Since graduating, Adam has written about predatory publishing for NBC News and collaborates with Prof. Shelomi in writing and submitting sting articles to suspected predatory journals.

Sponsoring Department, Office, or Organization:

Chemistry Department

For more information, contact:

John Kirk
jkirk1@carthage.edu