David DuneauSep 21, 2023
MAHanson

Wow. Ok. Normally I feel like it's a bit overplayed to individually comment on #MDPI in the whole #AcademicChatter conversation, but this is really a must-see:

A Special Issue where the guest editors are lead or senior author on 27 of the 28 papers it published. Were they also their own reviewers!? Like... that sounds like I'm taking the piss, but... no seriously were they?
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/special_issues/Biologics_Botanicals

I guess this is a preview to an upcoming post. Look forward to it...

Processes

Processes, an international, peer-reviewed Open Access journal.

Sep 21, 2023 at 8:02pmWeb
Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023
@academicchatter this is insane
Show threadJudith MichaelSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson @academicchatter Thanks, this made my week! That explains a bit why MDPI is on my spam list.
Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023

@Samuelmoore @petersuber @deevybee @brembs

It's old hat to talk about MDPI being this or that... but this is really a whole other level. I'm amazed. Hats off Jochen Strube and Axel Schmidt. True visionaries.

Show threadAlbert CardonaSep 21, 2023

@MarkHanson @Samuelmoore @petersuber @deevybee @brembs

Is the target audience of these papers the administrators that do the bean counting and haven't yet learned what Goodhart's law is about? Because clearly it isn't scientists.

Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023
@albertcardona I mean... right now... I'm getting a lot of shock value entertainment out of them... so maybe I'm the target audience. 😅
Show threadBjörn BrembsSep 22, 2023

@albertcardona @MarkHanson @Samuelmoore @petersuber @deevybee

Probably the right guess.
This looks like blatant abuse to me. There have been similar abuses of entire journals (not just special issues) at various publishers over the decades. Off the top of my head: El Naschie
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2008/11/chaos-solitons-and-self-promotion.html
There are many more.

Chaos, Solitons and Self-Promotion

Science News, Physics, Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science

Show threadHans ZaunerSep 22, 2023

@MarkHanson

"Processes is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We fully adhere to its Code of Conduct and to its Best Practice Guidelines."

- I'm pretty sure COPE's guidelines say that editors can't handle a manuscript (invite reviewers, make decisions) if they are a co-author.

Show threadMAHansonSep 22, 2023
@HansZauner Don't get me started on COPE 😂
Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023
@ElisabethBik this is probably low-hanging fruit, but I just bet you any cell biology images in these papers are abstract art at best.
Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom MDPI is very boring, I know. But this special issue in OP really is something incredible. Two guest editors authored 27 of the 28 papers in their own special issue.

I'm amazed.

Show threadGabriele PollaraSep 21, 2023
@MarkHanson @ct_bergstrom they might as well start a new MDPI journal named after them!
Show threadAlessia ViscontiSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson @ct_bergstrom and the 28th is by one of their collaborators 🧐
Show threadCarl T. BergstromSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson Remarkable. This is way over the top and also very useful for me to be able to share. Thanks.
Show threada prestonSep 21, 2023
@MarkHanson wow.
Show threadJohannesSep 21, 2023
@MarkHanson
Quite a few of the abstracts seem gibberish. No obvious tortured phrases, but buzzwords squished into awkward grammar. We academics are guilty of stilted jargon, but these abstracts are chock-full of pearls like “steadily rising significance to deepen process understanding”.
Looking at who cites these literary masterpieces … mostly the authors themselves.
What’s the use though - the authors are all at a tiny German uni, their bosses couldn’t possibly be fooled by this?
Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023

@johannes_lehmann hey... for all I know it's a sting operation. Hahaha.

I mean... I doubt it... but just throwing that out into the universe Jochen and Axel, if you guys happen to follow me and want to make an attempt at saving face. I'd love to watch that. 🍿

Show threadDebora Weber-WulffSep 21, 2023
@MarkHanson
I would suggest that you report them to the TU Clausthal ethics board:
Ombudsperson ist Prof. Dr. A. Weber, 05323-72-2309, Institut für Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik, Technische Universität Clausthal, Leibnizstraße 19, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld .
I do not find this acceptable.
Show threadMAHansonSep 22, 2023
@WiseWoman be my guest!
Show threadDebora Weber-WulffSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson Okay, done!
Show threadDebora Weber-WulffSep 30, 2023
@MarkHanson
Prof. Weber answered the same day, saying that he is currently traveling but will look into the case, as it is indeed a rather unusual situation. I will post back here if I get an additional reply.
Show threadMAHansonSep 30, 2023

@WiseWoman I'll be curious to hear about it!

You might also be interested in:

https://fediscience.org/@MarkHanson/111147239095599059

MAHanson (@[email protected])

Attached: 2 images The strain on scientific publishing 📄: The publishing sector has a problem. Scientists are overwhelmed, editors are overworked, special issue invitations are constant, research paper mills, article retractions, journal delistings… JUST WHAT IS GOING ON!? Myself, pablo, @[email protected] and Dan have spent the last few months investigating just that. https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.15884 A thread🧵1/n #AcademicChatter #PublishOrPerish #Elsevier #Springer #MDPI #Wiley #Frontiers #PhDAdvice #PhDChat #SciComm

FediScience.org
Show threadHauke DrechslerSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson just wait for the netflix series "how to boost publication records online (fast)" that will give answers to all your questions 😉
Show threadMark Ziemann 🇺🇦🌻🦩Sep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson editorial scale salami slicing right there
Show threadNachiket VartakSep 22, 2023

@MarkHanson This is sad, but the reason it happens is because of the disproportionate emphasis on publication. 'Publish or perish' is what needs to perish. I prefer the white paper approach. Peer review is for quality checking which doesn't need to be a barrier for public dissemination.

#MDPI #AcademicChatter

Show threadKate Nyhan is changing serversSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson
American journal of health behavior did something similar with a special issue of papers funded by Juul, guest edited by a Juul consultant who was an author on several of the articles.
Show threadKate Nyhan is changing serversSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson In the interest of fairness, here's my PubPeer comment and the response of the guest editor-cum-author response: https://pubpeer.com/publications/F13D7A8E45724F1D307B71C0B54A7B
And some news coverage: https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1247
PubPeer - Prevalence of ENDS and JUUL Use, by Smoking Status, in Natio...

There are comments on PubPeer for publication: Prevalence of ENDS and JUUL Use, by Smoking Status, in National Samples of Young Adults and Older Adults in the U.S (2021)

Show threadKate Nyhan is changing serversSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson
Personally, my big issue is about disclosure. As I said on PubPeer, "It may (may) suffice for COPE that the sponsor of a special issue is disclosed once in the issue; in today's world where researchers consume individual articles, disclosure of issue sponsorship should happen at the article level too." I looked at the first article in the MDPI special issue and do not see such disclosure.
Show threadMAHansonSep 22, 2023
@kdnyhan disclosure of backing for a special issue is a consideration I hadn't even thought of! Thanks.
Show threadKate Nyhan is changing serversSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson in the pubpeer comment there's a link to the COPE guidance on an editor publishing in their own journal. I am not aware of COPE guidance specifically about guest editors/special issues.
Show threadNeil ErnstSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson is it possible this is some weird IT artifact, e.g. they are using the editorial system to handle end of term final reports? I've had a few cases where the shitty journal manager software needs bizarre workarounds.
Show threadMAHansonSep 22, 2023

@neilernst this is the most generous take I think one could possibly derive. Haha. Kudos.

That said, nah. Author orders of editors within articles are all over the place with mostly the same pool of co-authors. Topics of papers also all the same, coming from Strube lab.

Show threadNeil ErnstSep 22, 2023
@MarkHanson :) I'm trying to be a more optimistic, less cynical person (hard in academic publishing sometimes)
Show threadMAHansonSep 22, 2023
@neilernst fwoo definitely don't follow me then... unless you also like immunity and/or fruit flies... but even then.........
Show threadDr N. BrodieSep 26, 2023
@MarkHanson OMG my eyes 😳. how does one go from being a coauthor on HIV vaccines to a coauthor on the crystallisation of sugar and … well perhaps there’s just nothing they can’t do 😬
Show threadDr N. BrodieSep 26, 2023

@MarkHanson oh .. I see the publisher is accused of ‘predatory like behaviour’ which may explain how this happened

https://predatory-publishing.com/is-mdpi-a-predatory-publisher/#:~:text=But%2C%20at%20least%2C%20it%20will,that%20it%20exhibits%20predatory%20behavior.

Is MDPI a predatory publisher? - Predatory Journals and Conferences

MDPI have been accused of being a predatory publisher, but others have defended them. In this article we suggest a way forward.

Predatory Journals and Conferences
Show threadMAHansonSep 26, 2023
@brodiegal stay tuned... preprint incoming
Show threadJohn Faithfull 🌍🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🧡✊🏻✊🏿Jan 13
@MarkHanson 🫣😬