Predatory journals : an enemy to be faced in scientific communication

Introduction: Scientific publication is an essential element for the reputation of a scholar and of a university and, as a consequence, the pressure for publishing – “publish or perish” – is becoming more and more preponderant in our times. Objectives: This paper aims to analyze the growing phenomenon of predatory journals as a serious threaten to the scientific universe and the forms that they can be identifyed and avoided. Methodology: Based on the international literature about this theme, this paper discusses the concept, characteristics, and forms of identification of predatory journals, and some questions that can illuminate the reflection on the ethical impacts of such phenomenon. Results: A joint action of authors, editors, academic institutions research funding agencies, and bibliographic bases become more and more urgent in order to guarantee ethical and transparent standards to scientific publication. Conclusion: This action pressupposes the development of a specific competence (strategies, decisions) to distinguish between trustfull and fraudulent journals.